Jumana El Husseini

Jumana El-Husseini (1932–2018) was a Palestinian painter and sculptor born in Jerusalem and based in Paris. She gained international recognition for her art, which spanned over four decades and included solo and group exhibitions in more than thirty countries. Her work is held in private and museum collections globally. El-Husseini studied painting, sculpture, and ceramics in Beirut and Paris. Initially known for figurative paintings of Palestinian women and geometric depictions of Jerusalem, her style evolved from realistic to abstract, incorporating wavelike calligraphic elements. She experimented with various materials, including oil paint, watercolor, embroidery, and stained glass. Born into a prominent Palestinian family, El-Husseini fled Palestine during the 1948 Nakba and resettled in Beirut. In 1957, she graduated from the American University of Beirut (AUB) and participated in her first group exhibition at the Sursock Museum. She joined the Ras Beirut artists’ collective and exhibited widely, including at venues like the Biennale of Alexandria, Venice, and Paris. During the Lebanese Civil War, El-Husseini shifted to watercolors due to shortages of oil paint, later turning to embroidery as a medium. Her work often reflected her displacement and connection to Jerusalem, using symbols like horses, butterflies, and pomegranates. In Paris, she incorporated Arabic calligraphy into her art, representing “letters to my mother who is buried in Jerusalem.” Notable exhibitions include solo shows at Galerie Joëlle Mortier Valat in Paris, Darat Al Funun in Amman, and Al Ma’mal Gallery in Jerusalem. Group exhibitions featured her work at institutions like the Institut du monde arabe ...