Lot 16 – Kamel Moustafa, Mahmoud Hamed

LOT 16KAMEL MOUSTAFA (EGYPTIAN 1917-1982)MAHMOUD HAMED (GOVERNOR OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF EGYPT)
signed K. Mostafa lower right
oil on wood
82.2 x 54.3cm; 32 1/4 x 21 3/8in
94 x 66.7cm; 37 x 26 1/4in (framed)

Property from the Zulficar Family Collection, Alexandria

Provenance
Acquired from the family of the artist
And thence by the Zulficar Family Collection

Estimate
£3,000 – £5,000
Buyer’s premium: 25.00% + VAT

Kamel Moustafa’s reputation as one of Egypt’s premier portraitists is exemplified by his high-profile commissions, most notably his portrait of Mahmoud Hamed, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt from November 1986 to October 1993. This work serves as a prime example of Moustafa’s ability to navigate the formal requirements of official portraiture while maintaining his characteristic focus on anatomical precision and tonal balance. In this piece, he captures the professional gravity of the subject through a disciplined use of light and shadow, a hallmark of the classical training he received in Rome.

The portrait of Mahmoud Hamed reflects a broader trend in Moustafa’s career where his technical mastery made him a preferred artist for the Egyptian elite and state officials following the 1952 Revolution. By applying the rigorous academic realism of the second generation of Egyptian modernists to figures of national significance, Moustafa helped define the visual language of the modern Egyptian state. This specific portrait remains a significant part of his legacy, illustrating his transition from the “Impressionist” street scenes of his youth in Alexandria to the sophisticated, institutional realism that characterised his later professional tenure.

Kamel Moustafa was a prominent Egyptian painter and educator associated with the second generation of the Egyptian modern art movement. A graduate of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo, Moustafa later refined his technical skills in Italy at the Academy of San Luca in Rome. This European training provided him with a rigorous foundation in classical composition and anatomical precision, which he subsequently integrated into a distinctly Egyptian thematic framework. His work is recognised for its technical clarity and its focus on the landscapes, rural life, and people of Egypt, often rendered with a balanced, academic approach to realism.

Throughout his professional career, Moustafa combined his studio practice with significant institutional leadership. He played a vital role in the development of art education in Egypt, serving as a professor and eventually as the Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Alexandria University. His pedagogical influence was instrumental in establishing a curriculum that valued classical mastery alongside regional identity. Today, his work is held in major public and private collections, including the Museum of Egyptian Modern Art, where he is remembered for his disciplined contribution to the country’s 20th century visual record.