Brief
Sheikha Somayeh Noor’s UAE art collection valued at $3.3 billion
The collection, housed in a Jumeirah Road villa, includes three original Frida Kahlo paintings and a ruby sculpture worth over $100 million.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Sheikha Somayeh Noor’s private art collection, located in a villa on Jumeirah Road, has been appraised at $3.3 billion (about Dh12 billion). The collection, which Noor began acquiring nearly twenty years ago, now includes works by Picasso, Kahlo, Velázquez, Monet and others, and occupies a dedicated museum wing opened four years ago.
Frida Kahlo highlights
The gallery is the only museum in the GCC to hold an original Frida Kahlo. According to Ahmed Ech‑Chafiy, the collection holds three Kahlo paintings, including El sueño (The Bed), which sold at Sotheby’s in November 2025 for $54.7 million. The sale makes Kahlo the most expensive female artist in history.
Other notable pieces
In addition to Kahlo, the collection displays a bronze dancer by Edgar Degas, a ruby sculpture from Brazil weighing 27.3 kg and valued at more than $102 million, and a frame by an unnamed artist that Ech‑Chafiy describes as “original” because the artist designed it.
Institutional partnerships
Noor’s collection claims institutional foundation partnerships with several major artists, including Kahlo, Picasso, Pissarro, Rivera, Velázquez, Monet and Renoir.
Key facts
- The collection is valued at $3.3 billion (gulfnews.com)
- It contains three original Frida Kahlo paintings (gulfnews.com)
- Kahlo’s <em>El sueño</em> sold for $54.7 million in November 2025 (gulfnews.com)
- The ruby sculpture is worth more than $102 million (gulfnews.com)
Background
The collection was opened four years ago and has been expanded over the past two decades.
Why it matters
The collection represents the largest private art holding in the UAE and showcases the country’s growing investment in cultural assets.
What happens next
No further actions have been announced by the collection’s trustees.
Sources
- [1] gulfnews.com — originally reported as “Inside the UAE's biggest private art collection valued at $3. 3 billion”
