Mounir Faheem – The Official Website of the Egyptian Artist Mounir Faheem

Mounir Faheem

Egyptian Contemporary Painter

About Mounir Faheem

Mounir Faheem was born on June 26, 1935, in Rashid, in Egypt’s Beheira Governorate. He grew up in a large family with seven siblings. His father, a land tax officer, moved frequently across the country for work, taking the whole family along. His mother, Esther Faragallah, played a vital role in raising the children and nurturing their education.

Mounir spent eleven formative years in Upper Egypt, mainly in Edfu and Aswan. The region’s ancient temples, the Nile, palm trees, and Nubian culture left a lasting imprint on his imagination. These themes would later define his artistic work. He completed his primary studies in 1949 and earned his high school diploma in Beni Suef. In addition to his artistic flair, Mounir had a natural talent for languages. He learned English with the help of his older brother Gibran and picked up Matouki, a Nubian language. The early death of his brother Asaad at 19 deeply affected him and revealed his emotional depth and sensitivity.At just six years old, Mounir impressed his family by drawing lifelike portraits with his left hand. He filled the margins of notebooks with sketches, often to the concern of his mother. But he excelled in mathematics too, assuring her that a good artist could also be good at math—and he was right.

In 1962, Mounir graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo. He opened his private gallery in Alexandria in 1965. His first major exhibition came in 1970 in Cairo, receiving critical acclaim. He exhibited widely in Egypt and abroad—including Germany, Yugoslavia, Romania, Jordan, Austria, and Spain. Some of his works were acquired by Jordan’s royal family and the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism.

Mounir Faheem passed away in his sleep on March 2, 1983, in Alexandria. He left behind over 700 portraits and a body of work rooted in the beauty and identity of Egypt. His painting Two Nubian Girls reached a record $137,296 at a Bonhams auction in 2019—cementing his status as a major figure in contemporary Egyptian art.

Key Dates – Mounir Faheem (1935–1983)

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