Dancer
Seif Wanly (Egyptian 1906-1979)
Gouache on black paper
31.2 cm x 48 cm (12" 1/4 x 18" 7/8)
Seif Wanly (1906–1979) was an Egyptian painter born in Alexandria who introduced modern art to Egypt.
After studying at the studio of the Italian artist Otorino Becchi, he set up an art studio in Cairo in 1942 with his brother Adham that was open to the public and any one interested in the arts.
Late 1950s - under Nasser governmental project to document culture prior to the relocation that occurred to enable construction of the Aswan High Dam - Wanly travelled to Nubia to produce a series of paintings and drawings portraying life in Upper Egypt.
Today an entire department of the Mahmud Saeed Museum in Alexandria is dedicated to Seif and Adham Wanly.