Adam Henein
Adam Henein (1929–2020) is universally recognized as the titan of 20th-century Egyptian sculpture. Born in the historic jewelry quarter of Bab Al-Shaariya in Cairo, Henein graduated from the School of Fine Arts in Cairo before spending formative decades working at the restoration of the Great Sphinx in Giza. His sculptural practice synthesized the timeless majesty of Pharaonic basalt, diorite, and granite with the austere reductions of European twentieth-century modernism. His works reside in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, Mathaf in Doha, and his namesake Museum in Harraniya.
Abdel Hady El-Gazzar
Abdel Hady El-Gazzar (1925–1966) was the visionary leader of the Contemporary Art Group (Gama'at al-Fann al-Mu'asir) founded in Cairo in 1946. El-Gazzar's paintings delve into Egyptian popular mythology, mysticism, Sufi rituals, and post-colonial industrial dreams. His iconic masterworks, including 'The Green Fool' and 'Popular Chorus', are revered as seminal documents of modern Arab intellectual and visual history.
Gazbia Sirry
Gazbia Sirry (1925–2021) was one of Egypt's most prominent modernist painters. Over seven decades, her work evolved through vivid figurative social realism into intense, colorful architectural abstractions reflecting the bustling density of Cairo, houses by the Nile, and the Desert. She represented Egypt at the Venice Biennale and the São Paulo Biennial, and her works are held at the Centre Pompidou and Mathaf.
Inji Efflatoun
Inji Efflatoun (1924–1989) was a pioneer of the Egyptian surrealist and feminist art movements. Mentored by Kamel El-Telmessany, she became a member of the Art and Liberty Group (Jama'at al-Fann wal-Hurriyyah). Her paintings are celebrated for their rhythmic, light-filled brushstrokes portraying fellahin in the fields, trees in blazing white light, and profound visual records of resistance.
Hamed Nada
Hamed Nada (1924–1990) was a founding figure of the Contemporary Art Group along with El-Gazzar. His dream-like compositions weave Egyptian popular folklore with surrealist animals, floating lamps, cats, and mystical fortune tellers.
George Bahgoury
George Bahgoury (b. 1932) is widely hailed as the 'Grandfather of Egyptian Caricature' and one of Egypt's most charismatic contemporary expressionist painters. Working between Cairo and Paris, his energetic brushwork captures the warmth of traditional Cairo cafes, Um Kalthoum concerts, and street life.
Hady Boraey
Hady Boraey (b. 1984, Beheira) is an internationally exhibiting contemporary Egyptian artist based in Alexandria. His poetic paintings explore migration, memory, metaphysical journeys, and celestial bodies.