a painting for Naziha Salim | Iraqi 1929-2007

Born on 10 January 1927 in Istanbul, to Iraqi parents originally from Mosul, during her father’s military posting in the late Ottoman era. The family returned to Baghdad when she was still a child . Growing up in a household steeped in creativity, where her father was a painter and her mother an embroidery artist, she and her siblings—including renowned sculptor Jawad Salim—absorbed artistic influence early on.

🎓 Education & Early Career (1945–1955)

Salim enrolled at the Baghdad Fine Arts Institute in the 1940s and graduated with distinction. Her exceptional talent earned her one of the first scholarships granted to an Iraqi woman to study at École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where she specialized in fresco and mural painting . During her time in Europe, she broadened her technical skills and absorbed modernist trends, while maintaining a strong link to her Iraqi identity.

👩‍🎨 Artistic Journey & Style (1955–1970)

Returning to Baghdad in the mid-1950s, Salim began teaching at her alma mater, the Baghdad College of Fine Arts, where she served until the early 1980s . As a founding member of Al-Ruwwad (“The Pioneers”), alongside artists like Jawad Salim and Shakir Hassan Al Said, she helped forge a new Iraqi aesthetic—integrating European modernist techniques with local themes .

Her paintings often depicted rural Iraqi women, peasant life, and family scenes, employing bold brushstrokes, vivid palettes, and harmonic compositions . Works such as Dancers and One Night’s Dream (1978), along with her haunting The Martyr’s Wife, reflect both a reverence for tradition and an embrace of expressive figuration .

📚 Educator, Author, & Cultural Figure (1970–2000)

In 1977, Salim authored Iraq: Contemporary Art, a foundational text on modern Iraqi art that remains a key resource. She also played a vital role as a mentor, shaping generations of Iraqi artists. President Jalal Talabani later praised her as “the first Iraqi woman who anchored the pillars of Iraqi contemporary art”.

💔 Stroke, Legacy & Passing (2003–2008)

Salim suffered a stroke in 2003, which left her partially paralyzed. She continued to live in Baghdad before passing away on 15 February 2008, aged 81 . Her death prompted national mourning: former President Talabani called it “a big loss to Iraqi art and culture” .

Her impact resonates in both Iraq’s modernist movement and the broader Arab cultural heritage. Her artworks are held in the Sharjah Art Museum, the Iraqi Modern Art Archive, and the Barjeel Art Foundation .

✨ Legacy & Cultural Impact

Full Name: Naziha Salim (1927–2008)
Time Period: 1940s–1981 as educator; active painter until her death
Style: Figurative modernism with bold colors; focus on women’s lives and Iraqi identity
Key Works: Dancers, One Night’s Dream (1978), The Martyr’s Wife
Influence: Founding member of Al-Ruwwad; mentor to Iraqi artists; author of pivotal art history text.

Her commitment to combining modern technique with local storytelling helped define Iraqi contemporary art, while her focus on female subjects forged new cultural spaces for Arab women in art.

Naziha Salim remains a vital voice in Middle Eastern art—a painter, educator, and author whose life and work embodied both aesthetic innovation and cultural affirmation.