LONDON, 12 February 2020 – On 22 October 2019, thirty-six works from the legendary Najd Collection together sold for a record total of £33.5 million, with nine further records broken for the greatest exponents of the genre. Following this major market-defining moment, Sotheby’s is set to offer a further selection of rigorously-painted historic scenes of the Middle East as it was experienced by intrepid explorers in the nineteenth-century. Over thirty rarely-seen works by leading artists including Jean-Léon Gérôme, Gustav Bauernfeind and Ludwig Deutsch will go on view at Sotheby’s London from 27 March, ahead of the auction on 31 March.

“Once in a while, a private collection has the power to redefine and reinvigorate a genre of art in the eyes of a new generation and in the market. Last year when we exhibited all 155 works from the prestigious Najd Collection, we were thrilled to witness a resounding enthusiasm for Orientalist art, and so it is with great pleasure that we are able to offer a second tranche of luminous works by its most famous exponents.” – Claude Piening, Sotheby’s Head of 19th Century European Paintings, London