DUBAI.- Consignments from Private Collections will lead, more than ever, this season’s auction of Modern and Contemporary Art taking place on 20 October at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel. Over 80% of the 122 works of art in this auction belonged to private collectors from all over the region, including Dubai, Beirut, Baghdad, as well as Asia, US, Italy, United Kingdom and Japan, to name a few. These works of art are surrounded by another six paintings coming directly from different artist estates, which never before have been seen on the secondary art market. Strong sections of Egyptian, Iranian, Palestinian and Lebanese art will add to the high level of quality and rarity which will be offered this October in Dubai. As ever, the sale will provide an overview of the art making in the Middle East over the past 90 years. For the first time a selection of 10 works of art by Zenderoudi, Yektai, Farmanfarmaian, Al-Azzawi, Nabil, Douaihy, and Maine-Daftary will be previewed at Christie’s New York from 22-24 September at Rockefeller Centre.

Private Collection
The collection of Dr. and Mrs. Khatib has a very special meaning to the UAE, as the couple helped to establish the art scene in the Gulf and mainly in Dubai in the early 1990s by inviting many artists from the broader region, with a strong focus on Syria, to longer stays in Dubai. Here these artists were able to concentrate purely on their artistic work and build relationships amongst each other and be inspired by different visions, techniques and understanding of art. From this esteemed collection we are offering five charming works respectively by Fateh Moudarres, Nazir Nabaa and Maamoun Al Homsi.

The Moughanni Private Collection from Beirut encapsulates the essence of Modern Lebanese painting. The late 1960s and early 1970s are considered to be Lebanon’s golden age, abundant in culture and rich in diversity. Pursuing a passion for collecting, the Moughanni’s acquired a unique compilation of works that shed light onto the oeuvre of two of the Middle East most fascinating painters: Paul Guiragossian (1926-1993) and Elie Kanaan (1926-2009). Both artists provide dynamically different visual perspectives on their Lebanese heritage. The three works by Guiragossian map the main stages of his technical experimentation. The recurring motif of the abstracted female or maternal form was consistently manipulated throughout his oeuvre through colour, form and size allowing each canvas to bring a new perspective on character, intimacy and depth. Unlike the figural compositions of Guiragossian, Elie Kanaan adopts a different approach to his method of abstraction. The decorative nature of his works is heightened through the use of expressionist-style brushstrokes and blurring the line between reality and imagination.

Artist Estate
Two extraordinary works by Mahmoud Saïd (Egyptian, 1897-1964) are being offered directly from his family estate. Négresse aux Bracelets, painted in 1926, belonged to the artist’s only brother Hussein Bek Saïd, who was also active in the cultural sector, working at Studio Misr, Egypt’s leading film production studio, which was in the 1930s Hollywood’s counterpart for three decades. Saïd’s mastery in depicting his sitter’s honesty and humanity came to another level with this painting. Omitting any superfluous or embellishing details, Saïd represents this nameless plebian woman with a natural and a weary, yet seductive look. By portraying her with such unrivaled honesty, Saïd succeeds in grasping the essence of her beauty and of her origins through her quintessentially Egyptian features (estimate: $200,000-300,000).

From the Estate of Effat Naghi are two works, one by Mohammed and the other by Effat Naghi. Both works are strong examples that instigate a re-invigoration of Egypt’s culture and reveal the artists’ mutual fascination with folkloric and primitive arts.

Modern and Contemporary Art
To commemorate the 25th death anniversary of one of Palestine’s young generation artist who died at the age of 28, Christie’s presents for the second time a work by the esteemed painter Asim Abu Shaqra (1961-1990). His masterfully orchestrated paintings are a rich pairing of subject matter and distinct technical experimentation creating a personal homage to Palestinian sentiment. With the desire to maintain the purity of his paintings, the artist’s visual lexicon was deeply filled by elements of the Palestinian landscape, most commonly, the cactus plant. As in this current work, the motif of the cactus transcended a truly representational of the history of his homeland. Serving numerous purposes to the land, this exotic plant was commonly associated as the marker for early territorial boundaries and for the rich fruit the plant produced during the summer. In this work, the powerful brushstrokes and unique choices of colour harmonise to create a work that reveals the simplistic beauty of shape and form (estimate: $200,000-300,000).

Manoucher Yektai (American-Iranian, b. 1922) combines general post-modernism with his Persian culture, a mix between East and West which transcends conventional expressionism and portraiture.

A Portrait of Robert Monroe is a captivating example of Yektai's practice of the aforementioned Action Portraits. The sitter Robert Monroe is a well-known and highly regarded photographer who has contributed towards many well-known magazines such as Vogue, Town and Country, Charm, Seventeen, Newsweek amongst many others (estimate: $40,000-60,000).