Faiq Hassan

Biography

Faiq Hassan (1914–1992) was an Iraqi painter born in Baghdad, often called the father of Iraqi modern art. After studying at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris on a government scholarship, he returned to Iraq to direct the Department of Painting and Sculpture at the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad. He founded the Al-Ruwad (Pioneers) group in 1950 and Al-Zawiya (the Angle) in 1967, and worked in styles ranging from sharp realism to soft impressionism and angular abstraction, best known for his depictions of the Iraqi working class and Arab horse riders.