Sotheby's Dubai Presents ‘A Love Letter to Beirut’ With Art Exhibit

The vibrant spirit of Beirut will be celebrated in a captivating art exhibition at Sotheby's Dubai, titled ‘A Love Letter to Beirut’. Showcased in Dubai from February 26th to March 1st, this showcase brings together a selection of works by celebrated Arab artists, many deeply inspired by the Lebanese capital and its enduring cultural heritage, precedes a live auction that will take place in London on April 23rd. 

‘A Love Letter to Beirut: Art and Culture, 1960s - 2020s’ will be a carefully curated auction highlighting the profound influence of Beirut on the regional artistic landscape. It will display over 45 artists, predominantly Lebanese, alongside Syrian, Palestinian, Egyptian, and Iraqi artists, whose artistic journeys have been shaped by their connection to Beirut. This sale encompasses paintings, watercolours, mixed-media and sculptures, tracing the evolution of mid-century modernism to the present, both within the region and on a global scale.

Nearly 30 Lebanese creatives will be honoured in this exhibition, including poet and artist Etel Adnan, New York-based Lebanese painter Nabil Nahas, master Lebanese painter Saliba Douaihy, and Lebanese-Armenian painter Paul Guiragossian. Among the highlights is an untitled Aref El Rayess painting from 1972, which was featured at the inaugural Baghdad Biennale in 1974, and will be offered at an auction for the first time.

Jordanian sculptor Mona Saudi will also be part of the exhibit, as well as master Egyptian modern painter Mahmoud Said, whose 1951 piece Maisons an Aitanit will be auctioned off for the first time. The piece is a representation of Aitanit, a southern Lebanon lakeside hamlet he visited a lot in the 1950s.

Proceeds from the auction will benefit cultural initiatives in Lebanon.