HAMED ABDALLA (EGYPTIAN 1917-1985)
nuhud
signed in Arabic (lower right)
acrylic and mixed media on paper laid down on board
96 x 64 cm (37 3/4 x 25 in)

PROVENANCE
Dr. Mohamed Said Farsi

Dr. Mohamed Said Farsi (1934-2019) was one of the world’s great patrons of Egyptian art. In 1956 he was one of only 35 students from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia sent abroad for further education. Having obtained a BA in Architecture and Town Planning from the University of Alexandria in Egypt, he returned to Saudi Arabia and in 1972 became the Mayor of Jeddah. During his lifetime, he assembled the most important private collection of Modern Egyptian art.

His collection became the first of its type to be fully documented with the publication of ‘A Museum in a Book: The Farsi Art Collection – the “Egyptian Works” owned by Dr. Mohammed Said Farsi’ by the critic and scholar Dr. Sobhy Sharouny (published 1998).

The present work is from his lettrist expressionist series, which Abdulla had started in the 50's - see also, Lot 10. Symbolising the Arabic letters "نهوض" (Rise up! or Stand up!) it is complementary to The Coma and can be read as a human figure rising up from the ruins of the disastrous world of Arab defeat and betrayals. Putting the two works together could be like saying: 'don't stay in your coma, rise up!'. However, the work is open to individual interpretation.

The two works were executed at the same period, and whilst the backgrounds of the two are very similar, it is not essential for them to be shown together.

We are indebted to the family of the artist for assisting with the cataloguing of this lot.