www.bonhams.com The work of leading Arab painters featured in Bonhams next Indian and Islamic Art Sale on April 28 2005 in New Bond Street is arousing worldwide interest in this little known but increasingly sought after genre. A selection of 20th Century Indian and Pakistani paintings, as well as Ottoman, Mughal and Persian works of Art will also be included in this sale, but it is a select group of works by the Arab artists, from private European and US collections which make a rare appearance in the auction saleroom that is arousing particular interest this spring.
In response to the demand of discerning collectors worldwide, Bonhams will auction rare and important works by leading Iraqi, Syrian, Egyptian and Lebanese artists. As collectors in this field become more knowledgeable and selective, and as Arab art becomes better known a revival on the international art market is being seen with record prices being achieved. The cultural value of the Islamic and Arabic heritage is being recognised and the modern art from this world collected first and foremost by the Arabs themselves and then by the international art community.
One of the important Arab artist whose work features in this sale is Issam El-Said (1939-1988) the grandson of the late Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri El-Said (1932-58). He lost both his grandfather and father during the 1958 revolution in Iraq and settled in London where he read Architecture at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge between 1958-61 and then attended Hammersmith College of Art and Design (1962-64). He was awarded the commission for the interior of the London Central Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre (1976-77), the Aloussi and al-Aboud Mosques in Baghdad in the 1980s, and had a consulting role in other buildings in the Middle East. His reputation as a painter was in part established by his membership of the Christie’s Contemporary Artists’ group. He researched theories of Islamic architecture and co-wrote (with Aysha Parman) Geometric Concepts in Islamic Art.
Rashad Salim, an artist who worked with Issam El Said writes of his work: “In shifting times, as troubled as ours, what are we to make of this particular group of art works? They are, like him, vividly marked by Iraqi sensibility, deeply noble due to a rare humility; here are works from the hand of a life smouldering brilliantly with the contrasts of the Mesopotamian landscape, its terrible frictions and profound peace, its bounty and its loss. Beauty of spirit, art implies, can transcend tragedy in its search for matter to redeem.â€Â
Claire Penhallurick, Head of Indian and Islamic Art at Bonhams says: “Perhaps the ability to build bridges between worlds is why this artist’s work is transcending its ethnic and cultural limits and finding a world audience.â€Â
This sale provides a unique opportunity to view and acquire Issam El Said’s work, for, although he exhibited widely and his works are in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Museum of Modern Art, New York and Amman his paintings rarely appear on the market. Further information about Issam El-Said can be found on www.issam-el-said.co.uk.
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s oldest
And largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques.
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