Shafic Abboud

Born Bikfaya, Lebanon, 1926 (d.2004)

Abboud studied art at the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts, Beirut, 1945–7. Among his professors were the Lebanese artist César Gemayel and the French painter Georges Cyr, two prominent figures in the foundation of the modern art movement in Lebanon. The latter introduced him to Western schools of art, and in 1947 Abboud travelled to Paris. He worked in the ateliers ofa number of artists such as Fernand Léger and André Lhote, and studied at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts. Having settled in Paris, he participated in the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles from 1955 and, in 1962, became a member of its committee. Abboud’s work has been exhibited on numerous occasions in France and Lebanon. He was awarded several prizes, including the Prix Victor Choquet, Paris, 1960, and the Prix du Salon d’Automne at the Sursock Museum, Lebanon, 1964.