LORNA SELIM (BRITISH / IRAQI 1928-2021)
Shorja at Sunrise
signed in Arabic Lorna (lower right)
oil on board, framed
19.5 x 70 cm (7 1/2 x 27 1/2 in)

PROVENANCE
Private collection, London

Lorna Selim was an English artist and art teacher, who married prominent Iraqi sculptor Jewad Selim, relocating to Baghdad with him in 1950. She was a practising artist for much of her life up until her death. She was a founding member of the leading collective known as The Baghdad Modern Art Group, along with her husband, and her early work was committed to global modernism while being informed by local culture. Selim contributed to the arts community in Iraq through her exhibitions, teaching and active participation in arts groups for twenty years.

Selim was fascinated by the traditional 19th century Iraqi housing found on the banks of the Tigris and the landscapes of the city centre, much of which was being torn down for redevelopment. Located near Bab Al Sharqi market, Shorja or Al-Shorja is Baghdad's largest and oldest market, a scene which Selim painted regularly.