# Issam al-Said > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Issam_al-Said > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Issam_al-Said.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Issam_al-Said > Source revision: 1353059785 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Issam al-Said** (7 September 1938-26 December 1988)[1][2] was a distinguished Iraqi painter, print-maker, designer, etcher, architect, philosopher and author who completed several major public buildings in Baghdad and in London. ## Life and career Issam al-Said was born in Baghdad in 1938 into an influential family. He was the second son of Iraqi parents, Sabah Nuri al-Said and Esmat Ali Pasha Fahmi (who was of Egyptian ancestry) and the grandson of [Nuri al-Said](/source/Nuri_al-Said) Pasha (Iraq's Prime Minister, 1930–58). As an adult, his older brother, Falah, was the personal pilot to [King Hussein](/source/King_Hussein). Both his father and grand-father were brutally killed during the 1958 revolution.[3] He studied architecture at [Cambridge University](/source/Cambridge_University), graduating in 1961[4] and also studied at the Hammersmith College of Art and Design, London in 1962-4. He began preparing for a PhD on the Methodology of Geometric Proportioning in Islamic Architecture at the [University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne](/source/Newcastle_University) in 1988, but died on [Boxing Day](/source/Boxing_Day) 1988 in London of a heart attack. He was buried on 1 January 1989.[5] before he could complete it. The work was published posthumously.[6] ## Work He was a versatile artist who, in addition to major public buildings completed in London and Baghdad, also designed furniture including lamps, carpets, tiles, furniture, etc.[7] From the 1960s, he began incorporating kufi script into his artworks, thereby joining the growing ranks of [hurufiyya artists](/source/Hurufiyya_movement) developing this style in the Middle East and North Africa in the 1950s and 60s.[8] His artworks are held in international collections, both private and public, including prestigious art museums such as: The [British Museum](/source/British_Museum), [Victoria and Albert Museum](/source/Victoria_and_Albert_Museum) (London), [Museum of Modern Art](/source/Museum_of_Modern_Art) (MOMA), New York; National Museum of Modern Art (Baghdad), the National Museum of Modern Art (Amman, Jordan) and [Darat al Funun - The Khalid Shoman Foundation](/source/Darat_al_Funun_-_The_Khalid_Shoman_Foundation) (Amman, Jordan).[9] ### Select list of architectural works - [Central Mosque](/source/London_Central_Mosque), London, 1976-77[10] - Islamic Cultural Centre, London, 1976–77 - Aloussi Mosque, Baghdad, 1982–83 - Al-Aboud Mosque, Baghdad, 1984 ### Select list of paintings - *Head of Christ,* watercolour, pen, ink & oil on paper on board, 25x16cm, c. 1959[11] - *Sodom and Gomorrah,* 1962 - *Medinat al Hub,* Oil on canvas 102x153cm 1963 (Inspired by [Nazik Al-Malaika](/source/Nazik_Al-Malaika)'s poem Medinat al-Hub)[12] - *Geometric Multiples,* enamel on aluminium, 1979 - *At the Door,* made of prints, 1979 - *Wa la Ghaliba illa Allah,* 1962-1974 - *Allah al-Kalima ,* Mixed media and oil on canvas, 50x50cm, 196[13] - *Kufic IV,* date unknown - *Three Women,* aquatinta etching, date unknown ### Publications - *Islamic Art and Architecture: The System of Geometric Design,* 1993 (published posthumously and based on his PhD dissertation) - *Geometric Concepts in Islamic Art,*World of Islam Festival, London, 1976 (co-authored with A. Parman) ## Legacy He is the subject of the book, *Issam El-Said: Artist and Scholar* by Samir Chorbachi Published by Issam El-Said Foundation, 1989 (two editions in English and Arabic)[14] ## See also - [Iraqi art](/source/Iraqi_art) - [List of Iraqi artists](/source/List_of_Iraqi_artists) - [List of mosques in Iraq](/source/List_of_mosques_in_Iraq) ## References 1. [https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100436841?d=%2F10.1093%2Foi%2Fauthority.20110803100436841&p=emailAMPeqLTxjdZIk&print](https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100436841?d=%2F10.1093%2Foi%2Fauthority.20110803100436841&p=emailAMPeqLTxjdZIk&print) 1. [https://www.issam-el-said.co.uk/41564.html](https://www.issam-el-said.co.uk/41564.html) 1. Al-Ali, and Al-Najjar, D., *We Are Iraqis: Aesthetics and Politics in a Time of War,* Syracuse University Press, 2013, p. 42 1. Al-Ali, and Al-Najjar, D., *We Are Iraqis: Aesthetics and Politics in a Time of War,* Syracuse University Press, 2013, p. 42 1. Al-Ali, and Al-Najjar, D., *We Are Iraqis: Aesthetics and Politics in a Time of War,* Syracuse University Press, 2013, p. 42 1. Bloom, J. and Blair, S. S. (eds), *Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture,* OUP, 2009, p. 164 1. Al-Ali, and Al-Najjar, D., *We Are Iraqis: Aesthetics and Politics in a Time of War,* Syracuse University Press, 2013, p. 42 1. Bloom, J. and Blair, S. S. (eds), *Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture,* p. 164 1. Grosvenor Gallery, *Modern Arab Masters,* 2012, p. 38 [Online:](https://www.grosvenorgallery.com/usr/library/documents/catalogues/modern_arab_catalogue_singles.pdf) 1. Bloom, J. and Blair, S. S. (eds),), *Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture,* OUP, 2009 p. 164 1. Bonhams Auctioneers, [Online:](http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/12051/) 1. Chorbachi, S., *Issam El-Said: Artist and Scholar,* Issam El-Said Foundation, 1989, p. 88 1. Aya Gallery, [Online:](http://www.ayagallery.co.uk/4639.html) 1. Sinclair, S. (ed.), *Bibliography of Art and Architecture in the Islamic World,* BRILL, 2012, p.654 --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Issam al-Said](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Issam_al-Said) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Issam_al-Said?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.