1 Painting, Middle East Artists, with Footnotes, 2

Jewad Selim (Iraq, 1919-1961)

Lamea, c, 1949 

Oil on canvas

61 x 46cm (24 x 18 1/8in).

Private collection

Depicting the prominent Iraqi poetess Lamea Abbas Amara, the painting, executed in 1949, is one with which Jewad had a well-documented personal connection, and it remained in the artist's collection until his passing, taking part in the landmark "Societe Primitive" exhibition at the Baghdad Fine Arts institute in 1952, where it was photographed alongside Selim and his wife Lorna.

After Jewad's death in 1961 "Lamea" remained with Lorna Selim till 1971, when it was sold into the equally esteemed collection of Iraq's preeminent art critic Jabra Ibrahim Jabra. More on this painting

Jewad Selim (1919–1961) was an Iraqi painter and sculptor born in Ankara (Turkey) in 1919. He became an influential artist through his involvement with the Iraqi Baghdad Modern Art Group, which encouraged artists to explore techniques that combined both Arab heritage and modern art forms. He is considered to be one of Iraq's greatest 20th-century sculptors.

Saleem studied sculpture in Paris (1938-1939) on a scholarship, but his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of war. He relocated to Rome (1939-1940), but again his studies were interrupted by war, forcing him to return to Baghdad. At war's end, he enrolled at the Slade School, London, where he was heavily influenced by Western artists such as Pablo Picasso and Henry Moore. 

During the hiatus in his studies, Saleem was employed at the Directorate of Antiquities in Baghdad between 1940–1945 and was appointed head of the Sculpture Department at the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad, a position he retained until his death in 1961. His work exposed him to Iraq's ancient art traditions, and he consciously sought to discover the possibilities of combining ancient motifs with within the modern abstract art he had observed in Europe.

Saleem consciously included Assyrian and Babylonian architectural features into his artworks - and was one of the first Iraqi artists to forge links with Iraq's ancient civilisations and their artistic traditions. More on Jewad Selim

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