Shafic Abboud is one of Lebanon’s most renowned modernist artists. Abboud studied art at the Academie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts, Beirut, from 1945-47. Among his professors were the Lebanese artist Cesar 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 traveled to Paris where he later settled. Inspired by the works of Nabis painters Abboud switched from figurative paintings to the new Abstract Expressionist style. He worked in the ateliers of a number of artists such as Fernand Leger and Andre Lhote, after which he studied painting at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts. In Paris he participated in the Salon des Realities Nouvelles from 1955, and in 1962, became a member of its committee. Abboud held numerous exhibitions in France and Lebanon as well as in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He was awarded several prizes, including the Prix Victor Choquet in Paris in 1960, and the Prix du Salon d'Automne at the Sursock Museum, Lebanon in 1964. Multi-talented, Abboud worked also in ceramics, tapestry and did artists’ books in collaboration with numerous poets. Shafic Abboud died in Paris on the 8th of April in 2004.
