Highlight Q and A with Auctioneer Nada Boulos (734 words 4 min. read )
1- What first drew you to the world of auctions, and how did you break into such a competitive industry?
After I got my BA in Political Science from the American University of Beirut (AUB) , I headed to the school of Journalism at Columbia University in New York . It so happened that I had to change my plans and go to Paris instead . While I was studying for my masters degree, I read an announcement at Sotheby’s premises in Paris for what was called : “The Works of Art Course” . I applied, I got accepted and spent there the most formative 10 months of my life .
I then decided to shift to a carrier in that business . And in 1988 I joined an “etude de commissaire priseurs” called Etude Guy Loudmer in Paris where I learned this most exciting job !
In 1993, I decided to move back to Lebanon to pursue this carrier. Back then we were catering for auctions of furniture and works of art as well as paintings. It is only in 2011 that I decided, after an interruption of a few years to specialize in sales of paintings by artists from Lebanon and the Middle East .
2- How do you view the current landscape of auction houses in Lebanon, knowing that some seem to lack transparency or professionalism, do you think that hurts the reputation of the industry as a whole?
Rules and regulations are essential in this field of work .
Auction houses need to verify the authenticity of each and every painting they sell. I hope everybody is doing their job in that sense. In the art market, competition is healthy…
3- What’s your strategy when you sense a lot is not bidding as actively as expected and have you ever had a sale that completely surprised you, either by how high or low the final bid was?
In all circumstances, there is an utmost effort that is done to ensure the success of each and every sale. Our efforts are geared towards ensuring that the paintings that are offered for sale are seriously promoted. So, when we sense that a specific lot is not attracting enough interest, we start looking into our data base to find who were the previous buyers and/or bidders for that specific artist and calling them directly to draw their attention to the lot. What can also be done is to search very actively for profiles of collectors that could be interested in buying such painting.
And sometimes, we get surprised: either by an unknown bidder popping up last minute or by the painting not being sold despite all the efforts that were made to sell it!
Auctions are full of surprises. But usually, the surprise applies on different lots rarely on the sale as a whole.
My most recent memory is the Hole Rizk sale that took place in March 2025, where most of the paintings got active biddings with Jumana Husseini taking the lead.
4- Do you think the market for Lebanese art is still undervalued internationally or are we finally seeing it priced where it deserves to be?
I think that Christies first sale off Middle eastern artists in Dubai back in 2007 (to be verified) was a turning point for the Lebanese art market. It was then that our artists started getting an international and well deserved recognition and that their prices started to take off seriously. Are we, in 2025, seeing it priced where it deserves to be? I do not think so! Lots has to be done. Namely more international exhibitions taking place in museums worldwide, more research and publications being done by scholars to promote our art and our artists. But I do agree it is a promising market that has done a lot so far.
5- What advice would you give to a young Lebanese artist trying to navigate both local relevance and international recognition?
Unfortunately, as an auctioneer, I do not think I am in a position to give advices to artists. We, in the secondary market, are not in direct contact with the artists. Our aim is to sell, for that reason we are on the side of the artists without being involved in their promotion. This is the role of a galleries. But what I can strongly advice a young artist to do is not to participate directly in auctions and to trust his gallery or his art dealer to ensure his or her promotion.
