[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2269788829.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n
\n\tBy the end of last year, 2026 seemed poised to be the year of the Gulf for the art market. In December 2025, Sotheby\u2019s held the first edition of Abu Dhabi Collectors\u2019 Week, netting $133 million in the process. This past February, Art Basel held the inaugural edition of Art Basel Qatar. And, in November, Frieze is set to host the first edition of its newly rebranded fair Frieze Abu Dhabi.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tBut then, after weeks of saber rattling, the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran. The Islamic Republic responded with attacks on the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. While the US and Iran are engaged in shaky ceasefire talks, the Gulf\u2019s reputation as a low tax, safe place to do business in the region suddenly doesn\u2019t seem so secure.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tThe biggest domino to fall in the art world, so far, has been Art Dubai, the region\u2019s premier fair prior to the launch of Art Basel Qatar and Frieze Abu Dhabi. Set to celebrate its 20th anniversary this year, the fair was\u00a0postponed from April to May and scaled back from more than 120 galleries in 2025 to just 50 after roughly 75 exhibitors withdrew, according to the\u00a0Art Newspaper.<\/em>Its revised edition is set to run from May 15-17 at Madinat Jumeirah.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tWhile Frieze has not yet spoken on its Abu Dhabi fair, clear signals of strain in the Gulf market have appeared in the broader luxury sector, which similarly targeted the region as a growth engine, as buying has slowed in Europe and Asia.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAccording to a report Sunday in the New York Times<\/em>, LVMH, the Paris-based conglomerate that controls Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., and Bulgari, among others, reported first-quarter revenues of \u20ac19.1 billion ($22.4 billion), a 6 percent year-over-year decline on a reported basis, per LVMH\u2019s own earnings release and confirmed by CNBC<\/em>. Fashion took a particular hit, with LVMH\u2019s Fashion & Leather Goods business group down 2 percent, according to the luxury conglomerate\u2019s earnings report. <\/p>\n \n\tKering Group, another French luxury group that owns Gucci, Bottega Veneta, and Yves Saint Laurent, reported a drop of 11 percent in revenue last quarter, and installed a \u201ccrisis unit\u201d to manage its Middle East business. \u201cIn the Middle East, it\u2019s tourist flows that are suffering more than the locals,\u201d Armelle Poulou, Kering chief financial officer, told investors this month, according to the Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\tIt bears mentioning that LVMH is owned by Bernard Arnault, the ninth wealthiest person in the world and one of the world\u2019s foremost art collectors. Fran\u00e7ois Pinault, another top collector, owns Kering via his Groupe Art\u00e9mis, which also owns Christie\u2019s.<\/p>\n \n\tAnalysts at financial research firm Bernstein have projected Gulf luxury sales could fall as much as 50 percent this year, as reported by Fortune<\/em>. While art was not specifically mentioned, the art market broadly tracks with the luxury sector.<\/p>\n \n\tThe US\u2013Israel\u2013Iran War has had broader impacts on the art world, beyond its Gulf plans. Shipping and insurance costs for artworks moving through the region have surged as a result of the conflict. International air freight costs for fine art spiked as much as 300 percent in the opening weeks of the war, according to Wang Jianmin, founder of Chinese art logistics company Top Space Art Service.<\/p>\n \n\tAt the start of this year, 76 percent of art market experts named the Gulf as the most bullish region heading into 2026, with \u201cminimal downside risk,\u201d according to ArtTactic\u2019s annual survey. One has to wonder if those experts would change their responses now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/art-news\/news\/iran-war-gulf-art-market-luxury-sales-down-1234782132\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2269788829.jpg?w=1024″] By the end of last year, 2026 seemed poised to be the year of the Gulf for the art market. In December 2025, Sotheby\u2019s held the first edition of Abu Dhabi Collectors\u2019 Week, netting $133 million in the process. This past February, Art Basel held the inaugural edition of Art Basel Qatar. 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