Artists of the Middle East: 1900 to Now

by Saeb Eigner

Overview

The first-ever A–Z survey of the major modern and contemporary artists of the Middle East.

Artists of the Middle East celebrates a region of breathtaking creativity through the innovative, spectacular, and at times politically resonant work of more than 250 of its leading artists. Spanning diverse art movements and communities from Morocco to Iran, this is a groundbreaking survey of more than a century of artistic activity, from 1900 to the present.

Saeb Eigner shares his intimate knowledge of the stylistic, literary, and linguistic histories of the Middle East and North Africa in the detailed biographies of almost 100 culturally significant artists from the region, ranging from early modernists such as Shafic Abboud, Marwan, Bahman Mohassess, and Gazbia Sirry to contemporary artists such as Mona Hatoum, Nabil Nahas, and Shirin Neshat. Concise profiles of almost 160 additional artists offer further insight into those shaping this rich cultural landscape.

This essential, illuminating resource for anyone interested in modern and contemporary art establishes a dialogue between works that engage with the prominent issues of our age and the ever-changing social, political, and religious context of their creation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780500026137
Publisher:	Thames & Hudson
Publication date:	06/03/2025
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 12.10(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Saeb Eigner is a specialist in Arab art and culture with a deep knowledge of the Middle East and is a committed advocate of the arts. For several decades he has been an avid follower and at times a collector of modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art, and works from his collection are on long-term loan to institutions, including his alma mater the London Business School (of which he has been a governor for many years). Saeb Eigner was a cocurator of the British Museum's exhibition "Word into Art: Artists of the Middle East" (2006; and touring from 2008) and is the author of Art of the Middle East: Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World and Iran (2010 and its revised edition in 2015).

Editorial Reviews

★ 2025-04-04
A rich artistic trove.

Eigner, a specialist in Arabic art and culture, grew up in Cairo, Beirut, and Kuwait, immersed in the abundant creative life of the Middle East. In a handsomely produced volume, featuring 572 striking color images of paintings, drawings, sculpture, photographs, installations, calligraphy, and stills from videos, he offers an authoritative survey of art encompassing a vast geographical area, from Morocco in the west to Iran in the east. Roughly 250 concise biographies and longer, insightful discussions of nearly 100 artists reveal more than a century of prolific artistic production in many media. Eigner examines recurring themes, such as calligraphy and folk art, nature and gardens, cityscapes and popular culture, as well as religious iconography, symbolism, mysticism, and spirituality. Some artists have drawn on historical and political allusions, including colonialism, uprisings, war, and massacres. Many artists studied abroad, where they were influenced by European modernist movements, art institutions, and artistic circles. The Lebanese artist Shafic Abboud, for example, attended the ateliers of Fernand Léger and André Lhote in Paris when he was 21, returning a few years later to study at the École des Beaux-Arts. He came back to Lebanon to work and teach, but when he was exiled by the Lebanese Civil War, he again made a home in France. Likewise, Hamed Abdalla had a successful career in his native Egypt before moving to Copenhagen and finally settling in Paris. Palestinian artist Ali Al Jabri studied architecture at Stanford and English literature in the U.K. Although shaped by international influences, the men and women whom Eigner profiles produced works infused with their Arabic heritage. It’s likely that most artists included here will be unfamiliar to Western readers; the volume serves, therefore, as an engaging introduction and informative resource.

A generous compendium of luminous art.

Kirkus Reviews