Atta Sabri
Iraq, b.1913-1988
After graduating from the Teachers Training School in Baghdad (1934) Atta Sabri went to Rome to train in art yet was interrupted by W.W.II. He eventually went to Goldsmith College, University of London, graduating in 1950. In 1958 he joined the faculty of the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad and in 1970 he founded the Institute of Arts and Crafts. One of the early Iraqi pioneers Sabri’s works show clear classic traits in sombre colours and traditional compositions of still-life and landscapes.