Christie's held the first dedicated fine art auction in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, November 1, 2026, at The Abu Dhabi Edition, realising $8,940,800 for the sale 'Mawasim: 20 Years of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art'.

According to Christie's press release, the total is the highest the house has achieved for a modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art evening sale in more than ten years.

The National reports that the sale brought together 70 lots by 58 artists from 13 countries, deliberately timed to mark two decades since Christie's inaugural UAE auction in Dubai in 2006. Works came from the Dalloul Collection in Beirut and the Barjeel Art Foundation in Sharjah.

The sale's standout moment was Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian's 'Variations on the Hexagon' (2006), which fetched $844,800 after nearly seven minutes of competitive bidding — more than triple its high estimate of $250,000, according to The National.

Christie's press office confirms the work led the sale. Turkish artist Fahrelnissa Zeid's 'Composition' (1948–1949) realised $524,800, while Iraqi artist Faisel Laibi Sahi's 'Baghdad Cafe (The Coffee Shop)' (2016) and Iranian artist Ali Banisadr's 'Homo Deus' (2018) each fetched $512,000.

Paul Guiragossian's 'Noces (Wedding)' (1958–1959), Mahmoud Said's 'Portrait de Princesse Fadia' (1952) and Zeid's 'Endless Thoughts' each achieved $486,400.

Both outlets report nine auction records were set, including for Jellal Ben Abdallah, Paul Guiragossian, Faisel Laibi Sahi, Juliana Seraphim, Nabil Kanso, Samia Halaby, Rami Farook, Fatma Lootah and Afra Al Dhaheri.

Christie's press office notes records for the specific medium for Guiragossian and Halaby, with auction debuts for Kanso, Farook, Lootah and Al Dhaheri.

The National highlights the demographic shift: more than 30 per cent of registrants were millennials or Gen Z, and 37 per cent were new to Christie's — evidence of a younger, broader collector base for Middle Eastern art.

Emirati artists making their auction debuts signals Abu Dhabi's growing domestic market, per The National.

Christie's president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Anthea Peers, told The National: 'We were absolutely thrilled this evening to see bidding from across our global client base… This is only the beginning.'

The sale followed a week of exhibitions and events, with strategic partnership from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office and support from Kering, according to Christie's.

Both publishers frame the result as a milestone in Abu Dhabi's emergence as a cultural destination and in the international rise of modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art, with Christie's explicitly promising to build on the debut within the emirate's art ecosystem.