Shakir Hassan Al Said (Iraq, 1925-2004) Portrait of a Woman oil on panel, framed signed 'Shakir' and dated '55' in Arabic (upper right), executed in 1955 45 x 40cm (17 11/16 x 15 3/4in). Footnotes: Provenance: Property from the collection of Jabra Ibrahim Jabra Shakir Hassan Al Said is widely recognised as a key figure in the formation of modern art in Iraq. In 1951, alongside Jewad Selim, he co-founded the Baghdad Group of Modern Art, a movement that sought to articulate a modern visual language rooted in local cultural and historical references. Through its manifesto and exhibitions, the group advanced the principle of istilham al-turath (seeking inspiration from tradition), positioning heritage as a point of departure for contemporary expression. The present work, Portrait of a Woman (1955), comes from the collection of the late Jabra Ibrahim Jabra, a writer, critic, and artist whose role within Arab modernism was both formative and far-reaching, situating the work within a network of key cultural figures active during a pivotal moment in the development of modernism in Iraq. Often regarded as a leading intellectual voice within the movement, Al Said developed a theoretical framework that drew on both Islamic thought, particularly Sufism, and Western philosophy, including phenomenology and structuralism. His writings proposed a rethinking of modernism from within an Arab cultural context, emphasising the relationship between material form and metaphysical meaning. Central to his later practice was the concept of the 'One-Dimension' (al-Bu'd al-Wahid), through which he explored the space between the visible and the invisible, and the intersection of time, surface, and perception. Painted in 1955, Portrait of a Woman belongs to an early and formative phase in Al Said's practice, created in the same year as his move to Paris, where he would further his studies between 1955 and 1959. Works from this period reflect an engagement with figuration shaped by both Western influences, such as Cubism and Expressionism, and a strong grounding in local Iraqi traditions. At this stage, Al Said was already negotiating the relationship between representation and abstraction, a trajectory that would later lead to his incorporation of the Arabic letter as a central structural and conceptual element in his work. The composition reveals a psychological tension, with the sitter rendered through a fractured symmetry - one eye closed, the other open - suggesting an internal duality. The muted palette and textured surface contribute to a sense of introspection, as form begins to move beyond representation towards a more symbolic register. In this respect, the work anticipates Al Said's later shift towards abstraction, in which painting becomes a site of contemplation rather than depiction, aligned with his understanding of art as a means of engaging with broader existential and spiritual questions. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * * VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing