acclaimed Dutch painter Kees van Dongen did this oil on canvas “Portrait of Nicolas Sursock”, the originator of the museum bearing his name, around 1926-1930
The Sursock Museum is one of Beirut’s most famous art institutions, focusing on modern and contemporary art. It is housed in a beautiful 19th-century villa in the Achrafieh district, the former mansion of Nicholas Sursock, a Lebanese collector who died in 1952. The museum has an attractive collection of modern and contemporary art, much of it, I think, from the original collection of Mr. Sursock.
the villa that houses the Sursock museum
and inside, too, several attractive rooms
One of the exhibitions in the museum is “Je suis inculté” (I am uncultured), first shown in 2021. It looks at works from the Salon d’Automne, the annual art show that has been organised by the museum since 1961, I suppose along the lines of the yearly Summer Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts in London and the Salon de Paris, the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
Just a small selection. Which nicely – if I can use that word here – illustrates the contrasts that dominate this country.
from the Salon d’ Automne of 1964, the 1st prize painting “Enfantine” (1964), oil on canvas, by Shafic Abboud
from the permanent collection of the museum, “Hammam” (1957), oil on canvas, by Simone Baltaxe Martayan
another permanent collection piece: very powerful, haunting oil painting by Lebanese artist Samia Osseiran, “Le Masacre de Qana” (1996), in which she commemorates the shelling of the Israeli army of the Qana UN compound, which killed more than 100 civilian refugees.
another haunting work, Samir Muller’s “The Exodus” (1989, glazed earthenware)
hanging next to an perfectly innocent work, “Cafe” (1984, oil on canvas), by Hassan Jouni
from the height of the civil war, this painting from Therese Amiouny, “La Patrie Crucifie” (the crucified homeland), 1988, oil on canvas
Turkish born artist Georges Cuv painted “Apocalypse” (1968, oil on canvas), good for the 2nd prize painting in the Salon of 1968
also a Salon entry, “Mothers” (1964, oil on canvas), by Moustapha Haidar
and this is from another exhibition, with a focus on the civil war: Amal Issa’s “Tribute” (2008, oil and charcoal on canvas), which is a tribute to Abu Ahmad, a Sunni Muslim militiaman in the 1975-1990 conflict
and one of the most impressive works on this special exhibition, photos of Beirut during and after the civil war: Bassel Abi-Chahine – “West Beirut Shot Twice” (1975-1989), C-print photo paper (these are just four photos from a larger collage)
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