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Lot 16 PROPERTY THE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF MR. FADHIL CHALABI
Born in 1929 in Baghdad, Fadhil J. Chalabi studied law at Baghdad University and graduated in 1951 and subsequently was one of the first people from his hometown to gain a PhD in oil economics from the University of Paris. He was one of the few people to leave their country for its benefit rather than his own. He left on a mission to learn something that he could eventually bring back to his country to better it and expose it to what’s out there in terms of culture and way of life. Fadhil belonged to a generation of the 1940s that had large aspirations and a drive for the development and progress in Iraq, only to become disheartened by the dreadful developments in Iraq since 1980.
Chalabi was the Executive Director of the Centre for Global Energy Studies, a London-based think-tank he co-chaired alongside H.E. Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani (B. 1930). Additionally, he was the former Undersecretary for Oil at Iraq's Ministry of Petroleum as well as Deputy Secretary General of OPEC from 1978-89 and it’s Acting Secretary General 1983-88. In 1988 he received an Award for Distinction British Institute of Energy Economics. He is also the author of many articles and three books: Oil Policies, Oil Myths: Observations of an OPEC Insider (2010), OPEC and the International Oil Industry: A Changing Structure (1980), and OPEC at the Crossroads (1989).
A lifetime working in the oil industry didn’t stop him from gaining a passion for art. Since his adolescence, Fadhil was always passionate for visual arts and especially for classical music, even playing cello as a hobby. During his time in Paris, Chalabi forged a friendship with renowned Iraqi artist, Shaker Hassan Al Said (1925-2004). Through this friendship, Chalabi had a gaining interest in art and began collecting works by the artist himself as well as other artists from his homeland as these works were his remaining connection to it. Over the years Mr. Chalabi has accumulated a massive collection of artworks by solely Iraqi artists. He remained devoted to his homeland and continuously supported the ever-growing art scene in Iraq. In the present sale, Christie’s is proud to offer 12 pieces from various Iraqi artists from his outstanding collection.
This collection aims to enthuse, and it did just that when it came to Chalabi’s sons, Talik and Jaafar, who, because of their father’s drive and collection were inspired to become architects. Through these works, Mr. Chalabi hopes to impassion other aspiring artists to move forward with their desires just as he did, as one never knows what’s in store for themselves.
Christie's is honoured to have been entrusted with the enchanting and seminal works from the Chalabi Collection. Looking into what defines the strength and continuity of Iraqi Modern art, this collection offers a broader vision into the artistic evolution of some of the most prominent Iraqi artists.
Born in 1929 in Baghdad, Fadhil J. Chalabi studied law at Baghdad University and graduated in 1951 and subsequently was one of the first people from his hometown to gain a PhD in oil economics from the University of Paris. He was one of the few people to leave their country for its benefit rather than his own. He left on a mission to learn something that he could eventually bring back to his country to better it and expose it to what’s out there in terms of culture and way of life. Fadhil belonged to a generation of the 1940s that had large aspirations and a drive for the development and progress in Iraq, only to become disheartened by the dreadful developments in Iraq since 1980.
Chalabi was the Executive Director of the Centre for Global Energy Studies, a London-based think-tank he co-chaired alongside H.E. Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani (B. 1930). Additionally, he was the former Undersecretary for Oil at Iraq's Ministry of Petroleum as well as Deputy Secretary General of OPEC from 1978-89 and it’s Acting Secretary General 1983-88. In 1988 he received an Award for Distinction British Institute of Energy Economics. He is also the author of many articles and three books: Oil Policies, Oil Myths: Observations of an OPEC Insider (2010), OPEC and the International Oil Industry: A Changing Structure (1980), and OPEC at the Crossroads (1989).
A lifetime working in the oil industry didn’t stop him from gaining a passion for art. Since his adolescence, Fadhil was always passionate for visual arts and especially for classical music, even playing cello as a hobby. During his time in Paris, Chalabi forged a friendship with renowned Iraqi artist, Shaker Hassan Al Said (1925-2004). Through this friendship, Chalabi had a gaining interest in art and began collecting works by the artist himself as well as other artists from his homeland as these works were his remaining connection to it. Over the years Mr. Chalabi has accumulated a massive collection of artworks by solely Iraqi artists. He remained devoted to his homeland and continuously supported the ever-growing art scene in Iraq. In the present sale, Christie’s is proud to offer 12 pieces from various Iraqi artists from his outstanding collection.
This collection aims to enthuse, and it did just that when it came to Chalabi’s sons, Talik and Jaafar, who, because of their father’s drive and collection were inspired to become architects. Through these works, Mr. Chalabi hopes to impassion other aspiring artists to move forward with their desires just as he did, as one never knows what’s in store for themselves.
Christie's is honoured to have been entrusted with the enchanting and seminal works from the Chalabi Collection. Looking into what defines the strength and continuity of Iraqi Modern art, this collection offers a broader vision into the artistic evolution of some of the most prominent Iraqi artists.
Kadhim Haider (Iraqi, 1932-1985)
And a Horse is Selling
Closed22 March 2018
Price Realised
USD 50,000
More Information
Specialist note
Growing up, Kadhim Haider loved to draw and his talent was noticed by his teachers and artist Mohammad Saleh Zaki (1888-1974) who was visiting the elementary school Haider was attending. Haider studied literature at the Higher Institute of Teachers in Baghdad, while simultaneously enrolling in night classes at the Institute of Fine Arts. He graduated from both in 1957 and in 1959 went to London to study at the Central College of the Arts (now Central St. Martins), where he received degrees in painting, lithography and theater design. Upon his graduation, he returned to Baghdad in 1962 where he founded the department of design and was appointed a professor at the Institute of Fine Arts. During the late 1950’s, Haidar became associated with an Iraqi group known as the Pioneers, a group that consisted of artists who pursued the 'abandoning of the restricting and artificial atmosphere of their studios [to] paint directly within and from their outdoor environment.’ (M. Faraj, Strokes of Genius: Contemporary Iraqi Art. London: Saqi Books, 2001. Pg. 24)
In the aftershock of the first Ba'th coup in February 1963, Haider began work on a series of paintings based on imagery from the street performances that annually mourn the martyrdom of the Imam Husayn. Utilizing modern design techniques as well as aesthetic principles, Haider’s subjects ranged wide from ancient Mesopotamian art to horses that animate the demonstrations and reenactments of the Battle of Karbala. The imagery neither depicted the ritual performances nor did it depict the historical events of the battle; instead, Haider gave it an abstraction make over where his aesthetic adjustments defused their ritualistic and historical meanings. Through these adjustments, Haider made the imagery from the mourning celebrations available through a narrated vocabulary to depict the struggle of an unnamed martyr. The paintings came to be immersed with the pathos and witness of the ritual remembrance of the martyrdom of the Imam Husayn. However, that pathos and testimony had nothing to do with the death of the Imam Husayn, rather with the experience of the first Ba'th coup in 1963.
In lot 16, And A Horse is Selling painted in 1965, Haider depicts an abstracted horse, a motif recurring in much of his oeuvre accompanied by a figure that seems to be guiding the horse as well as a group of figures behind the horse. In this piece, along with many of his works, he is exploring the mythological space created by those acts of remembrance. Because of his involvement in stage design in the late 1950’s, we can always see certain theatrical elements throughout his work.
Through these elements, Haider also has the ability to render landscapes in a way that was obviously inspired by his involvement in the Pioneers group. Employing color plains to instigate light and shadow as opposed to smaller brushstrokes, Haider seemed to push figurative forms into a particular kind of abstraction. Lot 15, A View of Palm Trees in Taarimiyah Baghdad, is a prime example of how Haider combines different elements to create an affixed painterly narrative.
In the aftershock of the first Ba'th coup in February 1963, Haider began work on a series of paintings based on imagery from the street performances that annually mourn the martyrdom of the Imam Husayn. Utilizing modern design techniques as well as aesthetic principles, Haider’s subjects ranged wide from ancient Mesopotamian art to horses that animate the demonstrations and reenactments of the Battle of Karbala. The imagery neither depicted the ritual performances nor did it depict the historical events of the battle; instead, Haider gave it an abstraction make over where his aesthetic adjustments defused their ritualistic and historical meanings. Through these adjustments, Haider made the imagery from the mourning celebrations available through a narrated vocabulary to depict the struggle of an unnamed martyr. The paintings came to be immersed with the pathos and witness of the ritual remembrance of the martyrdom of the Imam Husayn. However, that pathos and testimony had nothing to do with the death of the Imam Husayn, rather with the experience of the first Ba'th coup in 1963.
In lot 16, And A Horse is Selling painted in 1965, Haider depicts an abstracted horse, a motif recurring in much of his oeuvre accompanied by a figure that seems to be guiding the horse as well as a group of figures behind the horse. In this piece, along with many of his works, he is exploring the mythological space created by those acts of remembrance. Because of his involvement in stage design in the late 1950’s, we can always see certain theatrical elements throughout his work.
Through these elements, Haider also has the ability to render landscapes in a way that was obviously inspired by his involvement in the Pioneers group. Employing color plains to instigate light and shadow as opposed to smaller brushstrokes, Haider seemed to push figurative forms into a particular kind of abstraction. Lot 15, A View of Palm Trees in Taarimiyah Baghdad, is a prime example of how Haider combines different elements to create an affixed painterly narrative.