The new Wynn Al Marjan Island hotel resort in Ras Al Khaimah, a northern emirate in the UAE, will display part of the Wynn Resorts collection, including works by Marc Quinn, Jeff Koons, and Jaume Plensa.
Set to open in 2027, Wynn Al Marjan Island is a $5.1bn project from the US hotel and casino group Wynn Resorts. The 600,000 sq. m resort will comprise 1,500 rooms, suites and villas as well as a theatre, a luxury shopping area, a deep-water marina, an event hosting space, and— most controversially—a casino. Gambling has strictly been illegal in the UAE, but in October 2024 the UAE’s General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority announced a gaming licence specifically for Wynn Al Marjan island.
The hotel will display a Triceratops skull Photo: Christie’s, courtesy of Wynn Resorts
Ras Al Khaimah, which is around 100km north of Dubai, has long been one of the quieter emirates. In recent years, though, it grown as a destination for tourism and real-estate investment.
The art on display throughout Wynn Al Marjan will include contemporary work, Old Masters, Orientalist paintings and artefacts, such as a a 66-million-year-old Triceratops skull. Jeff Koons’s Tulips (1995-2004), which was formerly on show at Wynn Las Vegas, will travel to the UAE. The sculpture Light into Life (2023-24), specially commissioned from Marc Quinn for the Ras Al Khaimah hotel, will also be on view.
An interior rendering of the main lobby at Wynn Al Marjan Island Courtesy of Wynn Resorts
“By integrating art into the fabric of the resort, Wynn invites guests to discover these pieces in an informal yet engaging and meaningful way,” Todd-Avery Lenahan, the president and chief creative officer of Wynn Design and Development, says in a statement.
The Wynn Resorts collection, which these artworks belong to, is separate from the art collection initially acquired by Steve and Elaine Wynn, who were major buyers of art in the US. The couple divorced in 2010, splitting the private collection, and Steve Wynn has not been associated with the company since 2018. Before that time, however, works from the private collection were leased to Wynn resorts for the fee of $1 per year.
Marc Quinn’s Light Into Life (2023-24) Photo: Kew Gardens, courtesy of Wynn Resorts
Many of the private Wynn collection works have come to the market recently after the death of Elaine Wynn earlier this year. A sale from her estate at Christie’s New York last month realised $86.5m, with highlights including Lucian Freud’s The Painter Surprised by a Naked Admirer (2004–05) for $14.4m (including fees) and Joan Mitchell’s Sunflower V (1969) for $16.7m (including fees).