Iraqi Masterpieces from the Madhloom and Makiya Collections

Important works by the pioneers of Iraqi Modernism – including Jewad Selim, Dia Azzawi, Kadhim Hayder, Faeq Hassan and Shakir Hassan Al-Said – from the collections of the renowned Iraqi architects, Mohammed Makiya (1914-2015) and Said Ali Madhloom (1921-2017), will be offered at Bonhams' Modern & Contemporary Middle Eastern Art sale on 2 June in London.

The curated selection will bring together the central figures of the movement and will feature a number of important sculptures from the 'father of Iraqi Modernism', Jewad Selim – including Mother and Child, Motherhood and Standing Woman.

Emerging during Iraqi's postcolonial period, Iraqi Modernism was deeply rooted in the country's rich artistic past: the treasures of the Sumerian, Babylonian and Assyrian cultures of Mesopotamia, and the great works of medieval Islamic craft. It was also greatly inspired by the European avant-garde. Bringing together elements of local heritage and currents of international artistic modernity, Iraqi modernism strove to create a distinctive new secular style, both modern and revolutionary.

The 1940s and 1950s were decades of increased art consciousness in Iraq. Conversations between artists, architects, poets, and other intellectuals, led to more organized groups and movements – Said Ali Madhloom (along with his bother Medhat) and Mohammed Makiya were part of these conversations. Both studied architecture in Liverpool and, after their return to Iraq in the 1940s, they became prolific members of the Baghdad art scene. The Madhloom brothers joined Iraq's first art group, the Friends of Art Society, where they engaged with many of Iraq's main modernists, like Jewad Selim and Hafidh al-Droubi. Makiya, who participated in the initial meetings in 1955, became the first elected President for the Iraqi Plastic Arts Association in 1956.

In the 1960s, Makiya, with Said Ali Madhloom and Henry Zvobodal, founded the al-Wasiti gallery. As the first commercial gallery, the space played a pivotal role in introducing artists, facilitating public exhibitions and widening participation in the art market. The gallery organized important and first solo exhibitions for artists such as Kadhim Hayder and Dia Azzawi. After leaving Iraq in 1971, Makiya would continue his engagement with Iraq's artists through establishing the Kufa Gallery in London.

Browse and register for the Modern & Contemporary Middle Eastern Art auction at Bonhams.com before 2 June 2021.

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