Abu Dhabi, UAE – Sotheby’s will hold its first-ever fine art auction in Abu Dhabi on 10 December 2026. Titled “Breaking Ground,” the sale will take place at the Saadiyat Grove Experience Centre on Saadiyat Island as part of the second edition of Sotheby’s Collectors’ Week Abu Dhabi.
Highlights and estimates
- Claude Monet, Prunes et Abricots (1882–1885): $2 million – $2.6 million
- Jade Fadojutimi, Untitled (2022): $500,000 – $700,000
- Fernando Botero, Donna con Ombrello (bronze, 2008): $350,000 – $550,000
- Christo, The Mastaba of Abu Dhabi (Project for UAE) (2007): $180,000 – $250,000
- Etel Adnan and May Muzaffar, Ta’ir al-Nar (Firebird) (1998): $50,000 – $70,000
- Najat Makki, A Woman’s State of Being (1988): $30,000 – $50,000
- Andy Warhol, Ads portfolio (1985)
Spotlight on Emirati and regional artists
The sale also includes works by Emirati pioneers Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim and Hassan Sharif, while Nujoom Al-Ghanem and Nasser Al-Yousif make their auction debuts. Other artists include Huguette Caland, Inji Efflatoun, Fahrelnissa Zeid, S H Raza and Paul Guiragossian.
Collectors’ Week Abu Dhabi
The week includes six sales in total, with public exhibitions, panels and masterclasses beforehand. Luxury sales on 9 December will feature around 50 watches from the single-owner Shapes of Cartier collection, several Ferraris and jewellery including a fancy brown-orange diamond of more than 40 carats. Sotheby’s will release further lot details in November.
A busy season for Abu Dhabi’s art scene
The auction is part of a packed cultural calendar, with Christie’s first Abu Dhabi fine art sale on 1 November, Frieze Abu Dhabi from 19–22 November and the opening of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi on 11 December.
Source: The National.
