Shakir Hassan Al Said
1925–2004 · Samawah & Baghdad
Shakir Hassan Al Said was an Iraqi painter, writer and theorist who made the Arabic letter a central element of modern Iraqi art. He was a painter working with letters (hurufiyya), not a calligrapher of the classical tradition. Born in Samawah in 1925, he took a degree in social science in Baghdad in 1948 and a painting diploma from the Institute of Fine Arts in 1954, where Jewad Selim taught him; he then studied in Paris until 1959. In 1951 he co-founded the Baghdad Group for Modern Art with Selim and wrote its manifesto, the first art manifesto in Iraq. After turning to Sufi thought in the 1960s he gave up figures for letters, signs and wall-like surfaces, and in 1971 he founded the One Dimension group of artists working with Arabic script. He taught art history in Baghdad and published many books on art. He died in Baghdad in 2004.
Achievements
- Co-founded the Baghdad Group for Modern Art with Jewad Selim in 1951 and wrote its manifesto, the first art manifesto in Iraq.
- Published his Contemplative Manifesto in 1966.
- Founded the One Dimension group of artists working with the Arabic letter (1971).
- Taught art history at the Institute of Fine Arts, Baghdad (1970-1980).
- Showed at the Venice Biennale in 1976.
- His 'Wall in Baghdad' (1975) is in Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha.
Taught by: Jewad Selim, Raymond Legueult
His work
Died in 2004: the works are still protected by copyright, so we show them only with the permission of those who hold the rights.
Write in the tradition this hand shaped.
Open Mashq Studio →Living calligraphers you can buy from — signed originals on paper, from AED 550: Anwar Alhulwani (Thuluth) · Ahmed Alhawary (Jali Thuluth, Naskh) · Rasha Kasim (Kufi).
Sources
- en.wikipedia: 1925-2004, Samawah; 1948 and 1954 degrees; Jawad Saleem, Raymond Legueult; Paris to 1959; Baghdad Modern Art Group 1951 and manifesto; One Dimension 1971; hurufiyya; works and publications en.wikipedia.org
- ar.wikipedia: born Samawah 1344 AH / 1925; Paris mission 1955; taught in Saudi Arabia 1968-69; One Dimension 1970; died Baghdad, Muharram 1425 AH / March 2004 ar.wikipedia.org
- Meem Gallery biography: education; Jewad Selim; Paris 1955-1959 (Academie Julian, Arts Decoratifs, Beaux-Arts); Contemplative Manifesto 1966; One Dimension 1971; teaching 1970-80; Venice Biennale 1976; collections meemartgallery.com
- Qatar Museums / Mathaf: 'Wall in Baghdad', 1975, oil on wood, 122.3 x 182.3 cm, MAT.2007.1.1651; One Dimension and al-jafr collections.qm.org.qa
- Wikidata: born Samawah 1925, died 2004 wikidata.org
Written by the MASHQ studio · last updated 2026-10-05. Further reading, the standard references in English: Sheila S. Blair, Islamic Calligraphy (Edinburgh University Press, 2006) · Annemarie Schimmel, Calligraphy and Islamic Culture (New York University Press, 1984) · Yasin Hamid Safadi, Islamic Calligraphy (Thames and Hudson, 1978).