The Next Big Thing
MAHMOUD SABRI
Al Mawt Al-Tafl (The Death of a Child)
1963, oil on canvas, 137 × 196 cm.
Courtesy Sotheby’s, London.
In London and Hong Kong, buyers showed a taste for the new. Though trusty market darlings—from modern masters to contemporary favorites—continued to perform well, a number of works by important and previously sought-after figures did not meet expectations. On the other hand, pieces by artists who have only fairly recently gained favor at auction have enjoyed staggering increases in prices over a short period, pointing to the art market’s sensitivity to the latest trends.
LONDON
Sotheby’s London held its 20th Century Art / Middle East sale on April 30, bringing in a total of USD 4.39 million—a jump from the USD 3.16 million achieved at the October 2018 sale. Mahmoud Sabri’s large-format oil painting (1963), painted early in the artist’s career, made a strong auction debut, more than doubling its USD 634,000 high estimate to fetch (c. 1970), went unsold. The oil-on-canvas composition of intersecting pink and rainbow-colored lines had estimates of USD 38,000–50,700.
