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Lot Essay
The four present paintings from the collection of Mrs. Arlette Anhoury Sadat are undoubtedly an intimate insight into a prestigious private collection from Damascus. They reveal the friendship and encounters between the collector and the masters of Syrian modern art, Louay Kayyali and Fateh Moudarres.
Two works from the collection are personal and were painted in the early 1960s specifically for the young Miss Anhoury, as if she were a muse to the artists. She was indeed a great supporter for the arts and the artists, particularly during her long career at the French Embassy in Damascus, during which she helped many young Syrian artists to pursue scholarships in prestigious French art schools.
Back in the 1960s, at a time when a true vibrant art scene was born in Damascus, the young Miss Anhoury was one of the very few avant-gardist ladies. Her very rich upbringing shaped this young personality to be very futuristic in a time when young girls of her age were not encouraged to have a role in the arts and culture. Her father was Syrian from Iskandaron, but he worked in Jerusalem with Barclays bank. Miss Anhoury was born in Yafa, Palestine and later moved to Alexandria, Egypt, where she grew up and attended the prestigious school of Notre-Dame de Sion. Her education played a great part in her liberal thoughts and a few years later, she settled in Damascus.
Again, after long lasting efforts put in persuading
her family, she became a key member of the cultural
society known as Nadwet Al Fikr Wa AlFann (Group of
Thoughts and Arts). Her first role was in a play by the 17th
Century French playwright Molière and she later featured
in many adaptations of plays written by 18th and 19th
century Western authors. All of Miss Anhoury's efforts and
contributions were driven by her love for the Arts as she
took part in these plays as a volunteer, with the ambition
to build the emerging Syrian cultural art scene.
Miss Anhoury was a young and beautiful socialite, who
occasionally posed as an inspirational model for the most
notable Syrian artists such as Fateh Moudarres and Louay
Kayyali under the eyes of her chaperoning yet loving
mother. She soon established a lifelong friendship with
both artists and together, they triggered creativity. Very
few ladies from the upper classes in Syria enjoyed such
privileged freedom of expression within the art scene at
the time and long was it before her own family accepted
her close ties with the artists.
About her first encounter with the Aleppino artist Louay
Kayyali, Mrs. Arlette Anhoury Sadat says: One day, in
autumn 1961, my friends informed me about an exhibition
organised by an unknown Syrian artist from Aleppo who had
just got back to Damascus after spending several years in Italy
studying art. I was very curious to discover the paintings of
the artist whose name I discovered later was Louay Kayyali.
I attended the exhibition and one could immediately feel,
when looking at his works, that we were confronted with a
great talent, as the quality of the works before my eyes was
of a new nature for our modest Modern art scene. There
was a great sense of humanity and finesse in his works,
with the fluid lines and the unusual blue. For the first time
in my life, I decided to buy a painting. The one I set my eyes
on depicted a young boy selling ice cream. As I made my
choice clear, a man dressed in white approached me to ask
whether I had reserved the painting. With a great sense of
pride, I confirmed the same, but he tried to convince me in
changing my mind as he was pressured by a higher authority
persona to sell him the same work. I refused and walked
away. At that moment, a handsome man approached me,
but nervously I told him that I was not willing to give my ice cream
seller painting to anyone. He then smiled gently and
approved my good eye. He was Louay Kayyali.
Later on, he suggested to paint my own portrait, but
without my parent's consent, I could not have accepted.
It was only a few months later that I allowed him to
do so and he painted two portraits of me: a small one
which I am keeping in my collection and the work offered
here for sale The Horse Lady or The strange Lady Arlette
Anhoury, which was greatly appreciated by all followers
and collectors of Kayyali. It was soon after that Fateh
Moudarres suggested to paint my portrait as the Lady
with a big heart. These two portraits reveal the strong
talent and the creative minds of both artists and marked
the beginning of a long journey in which many famous
Syrian artists were discovered, challenged and inspired. I
was soon given the title of Muse of the artists. Those were
the good days in Syria.'
Two works from the collection are personal and were painted in the early 1960s specifically for the young Miss Anhoury, as if she were a muse to the artists. She was indeed a great supporter for the arts and the artists, particularly during her long career at the French Embassy in Damascus, during which she helped many young Syrian artists to pursue scholarships in prestigious French art schools.
Back in the 1960s, at a time when a true vibrant art scene was born in Damascus, the young Miss Anhoury was one of the very few avant-gardist ladies. Her very rich upbringing shaped this young personality to be very futuristic in a time when young girls of her age were not encouraged to have a role in the arts and culture. Her father was Syrian from Iskandaron, but he worked in Jerusalem with Barclays bank. Miss Anhoury was born in Yafa, Palestine and later moved to Alexandria, Egypt, where she grew up and attended the prestigious school of Notre-Dame de Sion. Her education played a great part in her liberal thoughts and a few years later, she settled in Damascus.
Again, after long lasting efforts put in persuading
her family, she became a key member of the cultural
society known as Nadwet Al Fikr Wa AlFann (Group of
Thoughts and Arts). Her first role was in a play by the 17th
Century French playwright Molière and she later featured
in many adaptations of plays written by 18th and 19th
century Western authors. All of Miss Anhoury's efforts and
contributions were driven by her love for the Arts as she
took part in these plays as a volunteer, with the ambition
to build the emerging Syrian cultural art scene.
Miss Anhoury was a young and beautiful socialite, who
occasionally posed as an inspirational model for the most
notable Syrian artists such as Fateh Moudarres and Louay
Kayyali under the eyes of her chaperoning yet loving
mother. She soon established a lifelong friendship with
both artists and together, they triggered creativity. Very
few ladies from the upper classes in Syria enjoyed such
privileged freedom of expression within the art scene at
the time and long was it before her own family accepted
her close ties with the artists.
About her first encounter with the Aleppino artist Louay
Kayyali, Mrs. Arlette Anhoury Sadat says: One day, in
autumn 1961, my friends informed me about an exhibition
organised by an unknown Syrian artist from Aleppo who had
just got back to Damascus after spending several years in Italy
studying art. I was very curious to discover the paintings of
the artist whose name I discovered later was Louay Kayyali.
I attended the exhibition and one could immediately feel,
when looking at his works, that we were confronted with a
great talent, as the quality of the works before my eyes was
of a new nature for our modest Modern art scene. There
was a great sense of humanity and finesse in his works,
with the fluid lines and the unusual blue. For the first time
in my life, I decided to buy a painting. The one I set my eyes
on depicted a young boy selling ice cream. As I made my
choice clear, a man dressed in white approached me to ask
whether I had reserved the painting. With a great sense of
pride, I confirmed the same, but he tried to convince me in
changing my mind as he was pressured by a higher authority
persona to sell him the same work. I refused and walked
away. At that moment, a handsome man approached me,
but nervously I told him that I was not willing to give my ice cream
seller painting to anyone. He then smiled gently and
approved my good eye. He was Louay Kayyali.
Later on, he suggested to paint my own portrait, but
without my parent's consent, I could not have accepted.
It was only a few months later that I allowed him to
do so and he painted two portraits of me: a small one
which I am keeping in my collection and the work offered
here for sale The Horse Lady or The strange Lady Arlette
Anhoury, which was greatly appreciated by all followers
and collectors of Kayyali. It was soon after that Fateh
Moudarres suggested to paint my portrait as the Lady
with a big heart. These two portraits reveal the strong
talent and the creative minds of both artists and marked
the beginning of a long journey in which many famous
Syrian artists were discovered, challenged and inspired. I
was soon given the title of Muse of the artists. Those were
the good days in Syria.'