A painting by Saudi artist Safeya Binzagr, 'Coffee Shop in Madina Road' (1968), sold for $2.06 million at Sotheby's Origins II auction in Diriyah, shattering its high estimate of $200,000. The sale set a new auction record for Binzagr and is the third-highest price ever achieved by an Arab artist at auction.
The record-breaking sale signals a significant shift in the global art market, highlighting intense collector interest and growing financial power within Saudi Arabia and the broader Middle East. Sotheby's head of contemporary art day sale, Ashkan Baghestani, noted the sale's role in validating the region's market and expanding visibility for local and regional artists to a wider international collector base.