Fahr El-Nissa Zeid achieves three times estimate at Bonhams

Lever De Soleil, Ischia, a 1961 large and abstract composition by the Turkish painter Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) achieved €152,800 against an estimate of €50,000-80,000 at Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr’s Modern & Contemporary African and Middle Eastern Art sale in Paris on 26 September 2024.

Fahr El-Nissa Zeid was one of the first women to attend the Fine Arts Academy in Istanbul. Subsequently, she moved to Paris to study at Academie Ranson under the direction of Roger Bissière. Zeid participated in many international solo exhibitions in London, Paris, and New York and the Middle East before settling in Amman in 1976, after the death of her husband Prince Zeid bin Hussein, a member of the Hashemite royal family of Iraq.

The 74-lot sale made a total of €488,000.

Noor Soussi, Head of the Modern & Contemporary Middle Eastern art department, said: “This Paris sale was incredibly varied. Women artists from MENA and Africa have been historically underrepresented in the art market, so we were pleased to feature a selection of modern and contemporary women Turkish and Egyptian artists, such as Fahr El-Nissa Zeid, Zeinab Abd El Hamid and Rabab Nemr.”

Julie Mathon, Junior specialist in Modern and Contemporary African Art at Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr, added: " We were very happy to partner with the Menart international art fair in Paris which paid tribute to the women's art scene in MENA (Middle East, North Africa). We are pleased to see that important works by Ouattara Watts and Aboudia achieved strong prices.”