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Lot Essay
In Mother and Child, Nabil Kanso depicts a woman clutching an infant to her chest, shielding him beneath the folds of her veil. Her mouth hangs open in an expression of anguish, while her dark eyes fix the viewer with an unflinching gaze. The child, by contrast, rests with his eyes closed, seemingly withdrawn from the turmoil surrounding him. Behind them, a background of violent orange-red erupts in sharp contrast to the saturated green contours that define the figures, reflecting their faith amid devastation. Through transparency and the layering of forms, Kanso creates a haunting sense of suspension between life and death. A luminous white shroud envelops the mother and child, functioning not as a symbol of death but as a redemptive light that draws the viewer towards their faces. The work encapsulates the artist’s enduring exploration of the fragile relationship between strife and salvation.
The painting belongs to Kanso’s Kuwait/Desert Storm series, comprising approximately forty works created between 1990 and 1991 in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent Gulf War. Depicting the violence inflicted upon civilians, the burning oil fields and the devastating human cost of conflict, the series reflects the artist’s commitment to bearing witness to contemporary atrocities and commemorating their victims. In Mother and Child, the intimate bond between the two figures becomes an expression of humanity’s vulnerability in the face of destruction.
Throughout his practice, Kanso explores the inseparability of darkness and light, presenting them as mutually constitutive forces. Within the Kuwait series, the act of bearing witness to suffering becomes an expression of resistance and, ultimately, a source of light essential to survival. The mother embodies strength and perseverance, while the child represents the possibility of salvation amid human-inflicted devastation. Together, they evoke the enduring tension between humanity’s capacity for unimaginable cruelty and its persistent longing for redemption.
This duality recurs throughout Kanso’s wider body of work, which confronts the Lebanese Civil War, the Syrian conflict and other episodes of human suffering. Rather than accepting catastrophe as inevitable, his oeuvre holds open the possibility of a more harmonious and peaceful future. Kanso was the first international artist to exhibit works addressing the Gulf War in Kuwait, subsequently attracting support for a major exhibition at the Museum of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in Geneva. Mother and Child was most recently exhibited in Beirut as part of Nabil Kanso: Darkness and Light (Part I) at the Dalloul Artist Collective in 2026.
The work originates from the prestigious Dalloul Collection, Beirut, founded by Dr Ramzi and Saeda Al Husseini Dalloul and now led by their son, Dr Basel Dalloul. Spanning five decades, the collection reflects the artistic, political and cultural shifts of the Arab world and the family's dedication to preserving and promoting Arab creativity.
Born in Beirut in 1940, Nabil Kanso was a leading exponent of figurative expressionism whose career spanned more than five decades. After studying at the London Polytechnic, he moved to New York in 1966, where he pursued studies in political science and art history before establishing his first major studio in 1968. Drawing on the legacies of Francisco Goya, Pablo Picasso and the Mexican muralists, Kanso developed a distinctive visual language characterised by monumental scale, gestural brushwork and psychologically charged compositions. Throughout his career, Kanso sought to make art a vehicle for international dialogue and peace. Beginning in 1984, his Journey of Art for Peace brought exhibitions, conferences and public discussions to institutions across Central and South America, reflecting his conviction that art could transcend geographical and political boundaries. Alongside his paintings, he produced extensive bodies of drawings and works on paper, exploring literary, mythological and historical subjects.
Kanso’s work has been exhibited internationally and has been featured in major exhibitions across Europe, the Americas and the Middle East. His paintings are held in prominent institutional collections, including the Guggenheim Museum, New York; High Museum of Art, Atlanta and Sursock Museum, Beirut. Kanso died in 2019, leaving behind a substantial body of work dedicated to the complexities of the human condition.
The painting belongs to Kanso’s Kuwait/Desert Storm series, comprising approximately forty works created between 1990 and 1991 in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent Gulf War. Depicting the violence inflicted upon civilians, the burning oil fields and the devastating human cost of conflict, the series reflects the artist’s commitment to bearing witness to contemporary atrocities and commemorating their victims. In Mother and Child, the intimate bond between the two figures becomes an expression of humanity’s vulnerability in the face of destruction.
Throughout his practice, Kanso explores the inseparability of darkness and light, presenting them as mutually constitutive forces. Within the Kuwait series, the act of bearing witness to suffering becomes an expression of resistance and, ultimately, a source of light essential to survival. The mother embodies strength and perseverance, while the child represents the possibility of salvation amid human-inflicted devastation. Together, they evoke the enduring tension between humanity’s capacity for unimaginable cruelty and its persistent longing for redemption.
This duality recurs throughout Kanso’s wider body of work, which confronts the Lebanese Civil War, the Syrian conflict and other episodes of human suffering. Rather than accepting catastrophe as inevitable, his oeuvre holds open the possibility of a more harmonious and peaceful future. Kanso was the first international artist to exhibit works addressing the Gulf War in Kuwait, subsequently attracting support for a major exhibition at the Museum of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in Geneva. Mother and Child was most recently exhibited in Beirut as part of Nabil Kanso: Darkness and Light (Part I) at the Dalloul Artist Collective in 2026.
The work originates from the prestigious Dalloul Collection, Beirut, founded by Dr Ramzi and Saeda Al Husseini Dalloul and now led by their son, Dr Basel Dalloul. Spanning five decades, the collection reflects the artistic, political and cultural shifts of the Arab world and the family's dedication to preserving and promoting Arab creativity.
Born in Beirut in 1940, Nabil Kanso was a leading exponent of figurative expressionism whose career spanned more than five decades. After studying at the London Polytechnic, he moved to New York in 1966, where he pursued studies in political science and art history before establishing his first major studio in 1968. Drawing on the legacies of Francisco Goya, Pablo Picasso and the Mexican muralists, Kanso developed a distinctive visual language characterised by monumental scale, gestural brushwork and psychologically charged compositions. Throughout his career, Kanso sought to make art a vehicle for international dialogue and peace. Beginning in 1984, his Journey of Art for Peace brought exhibitions, conferences and public discussions to institutions across Central and South America, reflecting his conviction that art could transcend geographical and political boundaries. Alongside his paintings, he produced extensive bodies of drawings and works on paper, exploring literary, mythological and historical subjects.
Kanso’s work has been exhibited internationally and has been featured in major exhibitions across Europe, the Americas and the Middle East. His paintings are held in prominent institutional collections, including the Guggenheim Museum, New York; High Museum of Art, Atlanta and Sursock Museum, Beirut. Kanso died in 2019, leaving behind a substantial body of work dedicated to the complexities of the human condition.