Analysis Lifestyle Christie’s to open new office in Saudi Arabia By Rebecca Anne Proctor October 11, 2024, 1:52 PM Alamy Christie's planned Riyadh office opening takes place during a time of massive state-led Saudi investment in art and culture International art market in flux Christie’s confidence in the kingdom Hopes for institutional collectors British auction house Christie’s announced last month that it had received a commercial licence to conduct sales and exhibitions in Saudi Arabia. From its new base in Riyadh it is hoping to tap into a secondary market for luxury goods and state institutions’ growing appetite for art. The company, which has its headquarters in London, will have a permanent office in Riyadh headed by Nour Kelani as its new Saudi managing director. Kelani, who previously led the long-defunct Ayyam Gallery in Jeddah, will head client services for the fine art and luxury secondary business, a release by Christie’s said. The announcement comes during rocky times for the international art market. Higher interest rates and waning confidence have caused high-end art sales to nose-dive, sellers have withdrawn works from auction at the last minute, and in New York and London, dozens of art galleries are closing. According to reports in the Financial Times Sotheby’s core earnings fell by 88 per cent in the first half of 2024, while auction sales fell by a quarter. While the exact opening date of the new office is still unconfirmed, the move takes place during a time of massive state-led Saudi investment in art and culture. “The pace, scale, and ambition of diversified economic growth make this an important moment for Christie’s to commit to being an active participant in the growing cultural ecosystem in Saudi Arabia,” says Anthea Peers, Christie’s EMEA president. Sopa Images via AlamySotheby’s is also increasing its presence in the region However, Christie’s expansion into Saudi Arabia takes place at a time of flux for the art market in the Gulf as well. Charles Pocock, a dealer and co-founder of the Meem Gallery in Dubai, says that auctions are typically no longer held in the region: “Dubai and Riyadh are branch offices of London to service clients in the region, including viewings and also online auctions coordinated from London.” The majority of sales held in the Middle East by Christie’s and its great rival Sotheby’s over the past few years have involved luxury goods. “It is important to look at what the auction houses are exhibiting and selling in the Gulf, and then ask why,” Pocock says. “The global trend for auction houses now is the luxury sector, not the fine art sector, as this is where the maximum profit is.” Part of the problem is a dearth of high-value works. In January 2020 Christie’s said it was cancelling its annual March auction in Dubai and incorporating the event into a sale in London, citing a lack of top-quality Middle Eastern artworks available. Since then, all live sales for Middle Eastern art have taken place in London. The controversial painting primed to become Riyadh’s crown jewel Arab Disneyland and Da Vinci: Saudi Arabia’s two great hopes Opera hits the high notes as Saudi’s latest cultural attraction Pocock says that in the Gulf, there are fewer buyers at auction today than there were 10 years ago. In 2010 Christie’s sales in Dubai typically achieved $10 million per event. Now a sale of Middle Eastern art now reaches only around $3 million. He says those major works that have been sold have been accounted for by institutions. “It’s cyclical and the perfect example of the three Ds: death, divorce and debt that determines the sale of art,” he adds. “Some great works will come back into the marketplace.” Dubai-based dealers know that Saudi Arabia’s biggest collector is the Ministry of Culture, after which there are a few private individuals buying contemporary art. The Saudi state’s biggest purchase is well known: the priciest work ever sold at auction was Leonardo da Vinci’s painting Salvator Mundi (circa 1499-1510), which went for $450 million at Christie’s in 2017. The work, according to a recent report by the BBC, is now in storage in Geneva, where it has been since it was purchased by the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. It may form the centrepiece of an art museum in the Diriyah historical district of Riyadh. Christie’s is hoping to stimulate domestic sales from its Riyadh base Sotheby’s is also turning to the Gulf. A recent slowdown in big-ticket sales and higher interest rates have left the auction house with debts of around $1.65 billion. In August the auction house, owned by the Moroccan-born billionaire Patrick Drahi, signed a deal with the Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ under which both parties will inject a combined $1 billion. According to Sotheby’s, collectors from the Middle East are still big players in global sales. Sebastian Fahey, managing director of Sotheby’s Global Fine Art, says: “We have seen a significant increase in activity from buyers and bidders from the region over the past five years, with collectors from the Middle East accounting for a record total spend in our auctions in 2023.” Sotheby’s was the first auction house to stage a sale in Dubai, in 1985. In 2017 it staged its first charity auction in Saudi Arabia.The company has a branch for its real estate business in Riyadh’s Al Faisaliah Towers. Fahey says Sotheby’s plans to establish “an even more robust presence in the region – be this in the UAE, where we have had a growing presence for many years, or Saudi Arabia, where we have some major plans under way that we will be announcing soon.”