Fahrünissa Zeyid

Born in Istanbul in 1903 she was the daughter of Şakir Paşa, a well known diplomat. She entered the Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi in 1920 and studied painting there. She went to Paris in 1928 and continued her painting studies at the Academy Ranson. In 1934, she married Emir Zeyid, the Iraqi ambassador to Ankara the time, and became a princess. Fahrinüssa, who kept in touch with foreign centres of art, lived in Berlin, Budapest and Paris on account of her husband’s postings, and held exhibitions in those cities.

She was the first internationally known Turkish painter.

Many of her works can be seen at the Paris Modern Art Museum, New York, the Gaugenheim, Edinburgh, Pittsberg, the Istanbul Painting and Sculpture Museum and the Ankara Painting and Sculpture Museum. The artist passed away in 1991.