Who was Fahrelnissa Zeid? Google Doodle celebrates pioneering Turkish abstract artist
One of the greatest female artists of the 20th century, according to Tate Modern
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Google’s latest Doodle celebrates the life of Fahrelnissa Zeid, the renowned Turkish artist best known for blending Islamic and Byzantine traditions with influences from the West.
Tate Modern, the British gallery that organised a major retrospective of the late painter in 2017, called her “one of the greatest female artists of the 20th century.”
Ms Reid created her own distinctive style of abstract, kaleidoscopic patterns. Her largest work sold at auction, Towards a Sky (1953), fetched just under one million pounds in 2017.
Monday marks the 118th anniversary of Ms Zeid’s birth.
Born on 7 January 1901, she became one of the first women to go to art school in Turkey. The pioneer lived in several different cities in her career, becoming part of the avant-garde scenes in Istanbul, pre-war Berlin and post-war Paris.
Her reputation grew in the 1950s when she was living between London and Paris and exhibiting extensively.
Describing her move into abstract art, she said: “I did not intend to become an abstract painter; I was a person working very conventionally with forms and values.
“But flying by plane transformed me… The world is upside down. A whole city could be held in your hand: the world seen from above.”
In the 1930s, Ms Zeid married Prince Zeid bin Hussein, part of the Hashemite royal family of Iraq. She was the mother of Prince Ra’ad bin Zeid and the grandmother of Prince Zeid bin Ra’ad.
The Turkish artist also produced many portraits, mostly of friends and family, but she also created of a picture of Donald Trump in the 1980s when he was still a humble real estate tycoon.
Later in life she moved to Amman in Jordan, where she initiated her own school of art. She died on 5 September 1991.
The recent Tate exhibition was aimed at lifting the artist “out of obscurity to ensure that she does not become yet another female artist forgotten by history”.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments