Issam El-Said, Iraqi 1938-1988-  
Untitled, "Bismillah"; 
oil on canvas, framed, 
90cm x 75cm

Issam al-Said (1938-1988) was a distinguished Iraqi painter, print-maker, designer, etcher, architect, philosopher and author who completed several major public buildings in Baghdad and in London. Born in Baghdad in 1938 into an influential family, he was the second son of Iraqi parents, Sabah Nuri al-Said and Esmat Ali Pasha Fahmi (who was of Egyptian ancestry) and the grandson of Nuri al-Said Pasha (Iraq's Prime Minister, 1930–58).

He was a versatile artist who, in addition to major public buildings completed in London and Baghdad, also designed furniture including lamps, carpets, tiles, furniture, etc. From the 1960s, he began incorporating kufi script into his artworks, thereby joining the growing ranks of hurufiyya artists developing this style in the Middle East and North Africa in the 1950s and 60s.

His artworks are held in international collections, both private and public, including prestigious art museums such as: The British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum (London), Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), New York; National Museum of Modern Art (Baghdad) and the National Museum of Modern Art (Amman, Jordan).

Select list of architectural works designed by Issam al-Said:

London Central Mosque 1976-77
Islamic Cultural Centre, London, 1976–77
Aloussi Mosque, Baghdad, 1982–83
Al-Aboud Mosque, Baghdad, 1984

Publications:
Islamic Art and Architecture: The System of Geometric Design, 1993 (published posthumously and based on his PhD dissertation)
Geometric Concepts in Islamic Art,World of Islam Festival, London, 1976 (co-authored with A. Parman)

For further reading see:  Issam El-Said: Artist and Scholar by Samir Chorbachi Published by Issam El-Said Foundation, 1989