.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
'I am the grand-nephew of the artist Saliba Douaihy. From the late 1970s until his death in 1994 I was in constant contact with him. He once even told me that I was the only person he had taught his techniques to in order to pass on his style of art. I must admit that I had an instrumental role in assisting Saliba Douaihy in his preparations and his selections for his solo show at the North Carolina Museum of Art, in Raleigh. During many stages of his life, I was there to help him.
In 1984, I organized with him his famous three month long Spanish Bohemian trip. We just hopped from one place to another with Saliba's brushes and pencils filling two entire sketchbooks that captured the beauty of the Spanish countryside. This was a turning point for the artist, who from then onwards created even more vibrant abstract landscapes. Saliba thanked me many times for that trip and said that it was his most productive period since the 1950s, a period during which he developed his hard edged, flat, abstract style.
When Saliba was born, he was the youngest child and the only son, with six elder sisters. Needless to say, it was not his father's first choice that his only son would become an artist. It was not until the known pioneer Lebanese artist Habib Shrour talked to his parents and pointed out the great talent that Saliba showed that his father reluctantly agreed to let Saliba go to Paris to formally study art. With Habib's assistance, Saliba was able to obtain a government grant that allowed him to afford the costs associated with going to school abroad.
Saliba mentioned to me when I bought these two paintings from him, that these were examples he had shown to Habib Srour and it is because of those types of earlier examples that he was able to persuade his family to pursue this career. Saliba insisted that I should have these in my larger collection because of the uniqueness of the signature. Indeed these two works are both signed with a double dot above the "i" in "Douaihy". Throughout the years Saliba had around eight distinct signatures and the present examples are amongst his earliest. Saliba personally hand-picked each painting, sketch, print, drawing and watercolour that is in my collection.
Saliba died in 1994 in America and his body was brought back to Lebanon with a hero's welcome. However today, 18 years later, he still rests in an unmarked grave in Ehden. His close family decided that taking care of this matter should be my responsibility. I have therefore decided to offer these two earlier and exclusive works at Christie's in order to raise the funds required to properly bury and honour Saliba. Saliba always told me that he wanted to help other talented youngsters to achieve their dreams, but he could not financially afford to do so. As Saliba considered his life a success, his intention was to give back to the community that had helped him in his youth. In selling these two paintings, I want to start the Saliba Douaihy Foundation for the Arts to carry out Saliba's wishes. This artist helped to raise Lebanese Art and artists to the forefront of the art scene.
Saliba's most valuable lesson is that he can claim success as an artist because it is the single most important purpose of an artist to evoke a strong and passionate feeling from an observer.'
(Robert Douaihy, New York, 2012)
In 1984, I organized with him his famous three month long Spanish Bohemian trip. We just hopped from one place to another with Saliba's brushes and pencils filling two entire sketchbooks that captured the beauty of the Spanish countryside. This was a turning point for the artist, who from then onwards created even more vibrant abstract landscapes. Saliba thanked me many times for that trip and said that it was his most productive period since the 1950s, a period during which he developed his hard edged, flat, abstract style.
When Saliba was born, he was the youngest child and the only son, with six elder sisters. Needless to say, it was not his father's first choice that his only son would become an artist. It was not until the known pioneer Lebanese artist Habib Shrour talked to his parents and pointed out the great talent that Saliba showed that his father reluctantly agreed to let Saliba go to Paris to formally study art. With Habib's assistance, Saliba was able to obtain a government grant that allowed him to afford the costs associated with going to school abroad.
Saliba mentioned to me when I bought these two paintings from him, that these were examples he had shown to Habib Srour and it is because of those types of earlier examples that he was able to persuade his family to pursue this career. Saliba insisted that I should have these in my larger collection because of the uniqueness of the signature. Indeed these two works are both signed with a double dot above the "i" in "Douaihy". Throughout the years Saliba had around eight distinct signatures and the present examples are amongst his earliest. Saliba personally hand-picked each painting, sketch, print, drawing and watercolour that is in my collection.
Saliba died in 1994 in America and his body was brought back to Lebanon with a hero's welcome. However today, 18 years later, he still rests in an unmarked grave in Ehden. His close family decided that taking care of this matter should be my responsibility. I have therefore decided to offer these two earlier and exclusive works at Christie's in order to raise the funds required to properly bury and honour Saliba. Saliba always told me that he wanted to help other talented youngsters to achieve their dreams, but he could not financially afford to do so. As Saliba considered his life a success, his intention was to give back to the community that had helped him in his youth. In selling these two paintings, I want to start the Saliba Douaihy Foundation for the Arts to carry out Saliba's wishes. This artist helped to raise Lebanese Art and artists to the forefront of the art scene.
Saliba's most valuable lesson is that he can claim success as an artist because it is the single most important purpose of an artist to evoke a strong and passionate feeling from an observer.'
(Robert Douaihy, New York, 2012)