By Marie Claire Maison Arabia
On October 1–2, Abu Dhabi will host what Sotheby’s calls its most valuable exhibition ever staged in the Middle East. Valued at more than USD 150 million, the two-day showcase at the Bassam Freiha Art Foundation marks the auction house’s first fine art exhibition in the UAE — and brings to the region six masterpieces that have rarely been seen by the public.
The selection spans the defining movements of modern art. Camille Pissarro’s Bords de l’Oise à Pontoise (1872) captures Impressionism’s luminous brushwork, while Vincent van Gogh’s Romans Parisiens (Les Livres jaunes) (1887) and Paul Gauguin’s La Maison de Pen du, gardeuse de vache (1889) illustrate Post-Impressionism’s bold colors and form. Edvard Munch’s St. John’s Night (Midsummer Night’s Eve) (1901–03) embodies Symbolist intensity, René Magritte’s Le Jockey perdu (1942) anchors Surrealism, and Frida Kahlo’s El sueño (La cama) (1940) offers a deeply personal, symbolic meditation on life and death.
Together, the paintings carry estimates ranging from Camille Pissarro’s Bords de l’Oise à Pontoise at USD 1.2–1.8 million to Frida Kahlo’s El sueño (La cama), valued between USD 40–60 million, with Magritte’s Le Jockey perdu (USD 10–15 million), Gauguin’s Breton landscape (USD 6–8 million), van Gogh’s Romans Parisiens (around USD 40 million), and Munch’s St. John’s Night (USD 20 million) completing the lineup.
Each canvas comes from a celebrated private collection: the Lauder, Bucksbaum, and Pritzker families among them. For Abu Dhabi, the unifying thread is rarity — several works have not been shown publicly for more than half a century, and none have ever appeared in the Middle East.
Following the Abu Dhabi preview, the exhibition will travel to Paris and London before its final stop in New York, where the paintings will be offered during Sotheby’s November marquee sales. The timing coincides with the opening of the house’s new Madison Avenue headquarters, underscoring its expansion strategy in the Gulf and beyond.
“Bringing these masterpieces together in Abu Dhabi is not only historic, but also a milestone for the region,” said Julian Dawes, Sotheby’s Vice Chairman, Head of Impressionist and Modern Art.
