A Sotheby’s sale of contemporary art in Doha, Qatar, last night achieved a strong total of $7.51 million, solidly between pre-sale expectations of $6.17-8.86 million.

The Contemporary Art Doha sale was 76 per cent sold by lot and records were established for 11 artists. 

The top lot of the sale was one of Christopher Wool’s earliest, most desirable and sought-after pattern paintings which fetched $1.33 million – setting a new benchmark for a work by the artist in the Middle East. 

In addition there were strong prices for other major international contemporary artists such as Anish Kapoor and Rudolf Stingel, while top works by leading Arab and Iranian artists particularly those from Egypt and Lebanon also performed well.

Lina Lazaar, Sotheby's Director, International contemporary Art, says: "Following hot on the heels of our October sale of Contemporary art in Doha, we were delighted that our 2015 sale was again greeted with such enthusiasm by local, regional and international participants, spanning the US, right across Europe and the Middle East as well as Asia. Once more we saw a number of artist records established – as many as eleven – and strong prices achieved for artists who were offered at auction in the Middle East for the very first time. Tonight’s total was a rewarding result; it very much reflects our desire to make each sale we hold in Doha a new and exciting experience as much as it is an opportunity to buy top international art within the region.”

Aileen Agopian, Sotheby's Senior Vice President, International Contemporary Art Specialist, says: “With as many as 22 countries participating in the sale, we saw lively bidding both in the room and from our international phone bidders, demonstrating that our Doha sales consistently draw an international audience. It’s noteworthy that there is an equal balance among the top ten lots in tonight’s sale between International and Middle Eastern artists. While the high-quality offering in tonight’s  auction  was  worthy  of  any  one  of  Sotheby’s  international  selling  locations,  participants heartily indicated that Doha is a unique and ideal location to acquire outstanding works and see strong prices achieved for both new and established International and Middle Eastern artists.”

The top lot of the sale was a bold, graphic Untitled Wool work which fetched $1.33 million (est. $1/1.5 million). The piece was created between 1986-1987 and is one of the artist's earliest, most desirable and sought-after pattern paintings.

Anish  Kapoor’s  Untitled  from  the  artist’s  Pixelated  Disk  series  was  a  further  highlight,     realising $1,03 million (est. $800,000/1.2 million). The perfect concave sphere of Untitled instantly enshrouds the viewer into its welcoming, yet slightly disconcerting, infinite space with the concave form capturing the eternally changing natural world within its fixed, artificial grasp.

Internationally   revered   artist    Rudolf    Stingel’s    Untitled    from    2001   sold    for    $790,000 (est.$600,000/800,000). The work from the artist’s desired Celotex series of paintings, is a sumptuous and shimmering canvas in which the artist captures the passage of time.

El Anatsui’s Introvert, a found aluminium and copper wire installation that exemplifies Anatsui’s signatory method of artistic production coupled with his principal ideology of reassigning purpose to waste sold for $910,000 (est. $700,000/1 million).

The Shrine from 2011 by internationally acclaimed artist Ali Banisadr soared over the high estimate to achieve $237,500 (est. $100/150,000) just six months after Sotheby’s set a record for the artist in Doha with The Chase.

Ayman Baalbaki’s Al-Mulatham from 2009 which, like many of the artist’s major works, depicts the shrouded face of a lone, heroic figure gazing up to the skies fetched $187,500 (est. $80/120,000).

Ramses Younan’s Untitled from 1945 sold for $137,500 (est. $60/80,000), the sale marked a rare appearance at auction for a work by the Egyptian artist who was instrumental to the Art and Freedom Movement.