In a showcase of its enduring commitment to the Gulf and the flourishing art scene of the Kingdom, Sotheby’s returns to Riyadh for the second edition of Origins II, a live auction due to take place on 31 January.
Following the resounding success of the inaugural Saudi sale in February 2025, Origins, the event builds on the momentum of last year’s landmark event. Origins II continues Sotheby’s exploration of the Middle Eastern art landscape, offering collectors a platform for museum-quality, historically significant pieces. The auction reaffirms the house’s dedication to elevating the region’s cultural visibility on a global stage, while supporting its dynamic and growing ecosystem of artists, curators, and collectors. Pieces in the sale are expected to surpass presale estimates, reflecting both the quality of the works and the depth of regional interest.
The auction coincides with the opening of the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale and the debut of Art Basel Doha, the Middle East’s first edition, in February 2026. Ahead of the sale, Origins II will be on public display at Diriyah’s Bujairi Terrace from 24 to 31 January, creating a week-long celebration of art, heritage, and culture.
Defining Excellence in the Kingdom’s Art Scene
When an event of symbolic weight calls for an equally significant location, Diriyah serves the purpose. The birthplace of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — also christened the City of Earth — and home to the At-Turaif UNESCO World Heritage Site, Diriyah provides an evocative backdrop for Origins II, intertwining history with contemporary cultural ambition.
The sale offers a carefully curated selection by Middle Eastern and international artists, spanning painting, sculpture, design, and works on paper — echoing both the past and the present. It offers both seasoned and new collectors an opportunity to engage with some of the most important pieces of the past century, rendered by key Saudi artists and distinguished names including Pablo Picasso. Over 70 exceptional pieces highlight Modern and Contemporary Art, alongside treasures from Ancient Sculpture, 20th-Century Design and Prints, Middle Eastern art, Latin American and South Asian art. The breadth and calibre of the collection promise strong results, setting new benchmarks and underscore growing interest in the Kingdom’s art market.
Headline Lots
Safeya Binzagr: Coffee Shop in Madina Road (1968, oil on board, estimate. $150,000-200,000)
Safeya Binzagr, a pioneering Saudi artist, is represented with a work that captures the rhythms and traditions of everyday life. Reflecting on her 1968 exhibition, she observed: “After finding that the most admired paintings were those depicting desert and everyday life in Saudi Arabia, I decided to use my brush to record the changing traditions and social customs in my country.” Born in Jeddah, Safeya traversed the Kingdom to capture the depth of its traditions, customs, and attire, earning the prestigious King Salman bin Abdulaziz Medal in 2017 for her lifelong dedication to preserving Saudi identity through art.
Mahmoud Sabri: Demonstration (1968 oil on canvas, estimate. $400,000-500,000)
Iraqi artist Mahmoud Sabri, a pioneering figure in the country’s modern art movement and head of the Government’s first Iraqi Art Exhibitions Department, presents Demonstration, a rare masterwork that exemplifies his potent visual language. Combining Christian iconography with social-realist intensity, the painting depicts a scene of female mourners, addressing themes of martyrdom and grief to illuminate the plight of the Iraqi people.
Pablo Picasso: Paysage (1965, oil and Ripolin on cardboard, estimate. $2,000,000-3,000,000)
A Premium Lot and the centerpiece of Origins II, Picasso’s Paysage embodies his late engagement with landscape. Depicting the hills surrounding Mougins, the work merges geography with personal identity, transforming the natural world into a vehicle for self-expression. Unlike his muted landscapes of wartime Paris in the 1940s, Picasso’s 1950s–1960s works confidently burst with colour, turning the landscape into a vivid extension of the artist’s emotions, memory, and creative identity.
Sotheby’s and Saudi Arabia: A Partnership in Culture
Riyadh is a city of layered significance, where cultural authenticity and contemporary luxury exist in harmony. Diriyah’s authentic historic and cultural resonance led to Sotheby's undertaking the mandate for official incorporation in Saudi Arabia towards the end of 2025. Subsequently, the city became the perfect site for Sotheby’s first auction in the Kingdom, which achieved $17.3 million, with a third of buyers from Saudi Arabia. The event marked a defining moment in the 280-year history of Sotheby’s, heralding the launch of its newest base in the vibrant city of Riyadh. The auction house’s engagement with the Saudi art market reached a milestone in 2023 with the opening of its Riyadh office within the iconic Al Faisaliah Tower — Norman Foster’s celebrated landmark, renowned as the Kingdom’s first skyscraper.
In Conclusion
Saudi Arabia is undergoing a remarkable cultural renaissance, where art and creativity are central to shaping the nation’s future. Sotheby’s permanent presence in Riyadh will be revolutionary for the region, aligning seamlessly with the government’s Vision 2030, and fostering cultural growth, heritage preservation, and social enrichment. Origins II represents more than an auction: it is a platform where history, innovation, and contemporary luxury converge, offering collectors and audiences a meaningful encounter with the Kingdom’s evolving artistic identity.
