Helen Khal – Cesar Nammour

Description

LebanonPostcard presents the book Helen Khal – Cesar Nammour – Fine Arts consulting and publishing, Beirut 2004
Hardcover book with protection, 29.7×23 cm, 137 pages – ISBN 9953 0 0326 2 – The book is signed Helen Khal

The Artist

Helen Khal, recognised as one of Lebanon’s leading artists and art critics, studied painting at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts and at the Art Students League in New York. She is a Lebanese-American who has lived, painted and exhibited in Lebanon for most of her life. In 1963, she established Gallery One, the first permanent art gallery in Lebanon. Since 1966, she has written more than a thousand articles on contemporary art in Lebanon and the Arab world for publication in newspapers (principally The Daily Star) and magazines in Lebanon and abroad. In 1975, she made a 22-university tour across the United States to give slide lectures on Arab art.

Known also as an educator, she taught painting at the American University of Beirut and at the Lebanese American University. In 1976, she wrote The Woman Artist in Lebanon – the first book to address the subject of Arab women artists-which was published in 1987 by the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World.

She lives for her art, but has never lived from her art. Consequently, she has always earned her living as a professional writer and editor.

She has two sons, Tarik and Jawad, from her 16-year marriage to the well-known Lebanese poet, Yusuf Al-Khal, which ended in divorce in 1963.

Foreword

This book about the prominent Lebanese artist Helen Khal is a humble tribute to her as an artist, art critic, writer and editor, and above all as a remarkably genuine human being. It provides a brief record of the significant events in her life and presents a panoramic view of her evolution and accomplishments as a painter.

Cesar Nammour, a friend of the artist for more than thirty years, wrote the text, based on many conversations and on an exchange of letters with her during the 1976-1996 period she spent in the United States. In planning the book, Nammour at first wanted to present the text in an autobiographical format, complemented by his own descriptive comments on the paintings themselves. But she refused, saying she had no time or inclination to write an autobiography… maybe one day, but not now. She was, however, of invaluable assistance to the author in providing much of the factual information and photographic material needed to produce this book.

The paintings are almost exclusively executed in oils, mostly on canvas, but a good number, especially those in small dimensions, are done on paper mounted on wood panels. They are not presented in chronological order, but rather according to the different compositional elements of design, motif and image. Some of the dimensions and dates are approximate and the ownership of many of the paintings is not known, as Helen Khal never kept a record of her production. Information in this regard is derived largely from what the artist remembers about the paintings.

If, in some instances, the color reproductions may not conform to the true colors of the original paintings, it is because they were reproduced from old color photographs and transparencies found in the artist’s possession. In many cases, selection of the paintings to be reproduced was made on the basis of the quality of the photographic material available, as well as on the availability of the originals themselves. It is hoped, however, that the reproductions included in this book are close enough to the luminous color of the originals to give the art of Helen Khal the tribute it deserves.

The Publisher

LebanonPostcard will be responsible for sending the book you order, through a fast courier with a tracking number, guaranteeing reception of the package. The book may take three to five days to arrive, according to the country they are sent to.