The Modern Art section of Christie’s Dubai March auction will be led by artwork from the late “father of Egyptian modern art” Mahmoud Saïd. Saïd “represents a particular Alexandrian attitude towards painting that depicted a cosmopolitan Mediterranean community and eschewed the more overt nationalist imagery of its Cairene peers. The strangeness in his works continues to allure and mystify viewers to this day,” according to Doha’s Arab Museum of Modern Art. The Christie’s auction will include works from Saïd’s private family collections, include Assouan- îles et dunes, which will be offered alongside its preparatory sketch, and expected to sell for USD 250k-300k. If the price looks a bit steep, you will be interested to know that Christie’s sold Saïd’s The Whirling Dervishes, which had an estimate of USD 300k-400k, for a total of USD 2.55 mn in 2010. This was the most anyone has ever paid to purchase an artwork by an Egyptian artist from Christie’s.