Sotheby’s will hold a Modern and Contemporary Art auction on 25 January during Singapore Art Week (SAW) 2026 at The Edition Singapore. The sale features rare works by early Southeast Asian masters, including Walter Spies’ "Die Schlittschuhläufer (The Ice Skaters)" (1922) and Raden Saleh’s "The Eruption of Mount Merapi, by Day" (1865), alongside Vietnamese silk paintings by Le Pho and Mai Trung Thu, and a David Hockney piece. The auction highlights a 60% rise in new bidders from Southeast Asia since 2022.
The auction matters because it underscores Singapore’s growing role as a cultural hub in the global art market, with Sotheby’s strategically targeting the region’s increasing collector base. The inclusion of historically significant works from private collections—such as Spies’ autobiographical painting and Saleh’s only known daytime eruption scene—offers rare market access and reinforces Southeast Asia’s artistic legacy on an international stage.