Sotheby’s sold works by Egyptian Modernist Mahmoud Said very well in April setting a record price of $2.4m for Les chadoufs and $902k for Sunset on the Nile at Luxor. Success on the art market usually brings more works to light and now Sotheby’s announces the sale on October 20 in London of four paintings from the collection of Dr. El-Kayem that have never been sold before. Here’s Sotheby’s release:
Through the course of his life, Dr. El-Kayem befriended aspiring and established Middle-Eastern artists, including Lebanese painters Seif Wanly and Aref Rayes, and renowned Egyptian modern artist Mahmoud Said. Said’s friendship with Dr. El-Kayem began in the late 1940’s and it lasted until the painter’s death in 1964. The paintings which are included in the present collection come from a period when both the artist and collector socialised together and shared the same studio. These works have never before been seen in public or offered for sale. Dr. El-Kayem and Mahmoud Said often travelled together in Egypt, Europe and also Lebanon, destinations which inspired Said and influenced his work. Mahmoud Said’s work came to epitomise the complexity of dealing with his own individual desires and the values of his society. These contradictions can be seen in all of his works ranging from stunning and poetic landscapes to his erotic and sensual nudes.