Fahr-el-Nissa (Prinzessin) Zeid Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Fahr-el-Nissa (Prinzessin) Zeid Art Value Price Guide

Aug. 26, 2026
ATTRIBUTED FAHRELNISSA ZEID (1901-1991) TURKISH. Abstract on board. Signed. 29ins x 21ins.
Est: £2,000 - £3,000
ATTRIBUTED FAHRELNISSA ZEID (1901-1991) TURKISH. Abstract on board. Signed. 29ins x 21ins.
John Nicholson's Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers
Jul. 09, 2026
Fahr-el-Nissa ZEID (Turquie, 1901-1991) Untitled
Est: €10,000 - €18,000
Fahr-el-Nissa ZEID (Turquie, 1901-1991) Untitled Encre de couleur et encre de Chine sur carton. 57 × 23 cm. Réalisé vers 1950. Provenance Collection particulière, Paris. *** Colored ink and India ink on cardboard. 57 × 23 cm. Executed circa 1950. Provenance Private collection, Paris.
Millon & Associes
Jul. 09, 2026
Fahr-el-Nissa ZEID (Turquie, 1901-1991) Composition
Est: €12,000 - €18,000
Fahr-el-Nissa ZEID (Turquie, 1901-1991) Composition Signé « Fahr El Niss… » en bas à droite, intitulé « MARS ». Signé, localisé et daté au dos « Fahr El Nissa Zeid, Paris, septembre 1951 ». Encre et technique mixte sur papier marouflé sur carton. 27,5 × 23 cm. Peint en 1951. Porte au dos du cadre l’étiquette de l’encadreur londonien James Bourlet & Sons Ltd, signée par l’artiste, annotée « passage 33 ». Étiquette « n°33 » sur le verre en façade. Provenance Christie’s Paris, Art Islamique & Tableaux Orientalistes, 6 juin 2007, lot 62 (daté 1957). *** Signed “Fahr El Niss…” lower right, titled “MARS”. Signed, located and dated on the reverse “Fahr El Nissa Zeid, Paris, September 1951”. Ink and mixed media on paper mounted on cardboard. 27.5 × 23 cm. Painted in 1951. Bearing on the reverse of the frame the label of London framer James Bourlet & Sons Ltd, signed by the artist, annotated “passage 33”. Label “no. 33” on the front glass. Provenance Christie’s Paris, Islamic Art & Orientalist Paintings, 6 June 2007, lot 62 (dated 1957).
Millon & Associes
Jun. 16, 2026
FAHRELNISSA ZEID (1901, BÜYÜKADA - 1991, AMMAN). Untitled. oil on canvas22
Est: £40,000 - £60,000
FAHRELNISSA ZEID (1901, BÜYÜKADA - 1991, AMMAN). Untitled. oil on canvas22 x 29 7/8in. (56 x 76cm.).
Christie's
Jun. 16, 2026
FAHRELNISSA ZEID (1901, BÜYÜKADA - 1991, AMMAN). Abstract. oil on canvas23
Est: £40,000 - £60,000
FAHRELNISSA ZEID (1901, BÜYÜKADA - 1991, AMMAN). Abstract. oil on canvas23 5/8 x 19 ¾in. (60 x 50cm.).
Christie's
Jun. 04, 2026
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Cataclysm
Est: £20,000 - £30,000
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Cataclysm oil on canvas, framed titled on Lord's gallery label on the verso, executed in 1957 50.5 x 76cm (19 7/8 x 29 15/16in).
Bonhams
Jun. 04, 2026
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Bayezid Mosque (Bayazit Camisi)
Est: £20,000 - £30,000
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Bayezid Mosque (Bayazit Camisi) oil on canvas, framed signed and titled 'Mosquée' on a label on the verso, executed circa 1945 60 x 40cm (23 5/8 x 15 3/4in).
Bonhams
Apr. 30, 2026
Fahrelnissa Zeid, Turkish 1901-1991, Abstract in Red and Black, Watercolor
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
Fahrelnissa Zeid Turkish, 1901-1991 Abstract in Red and Black Watercolor Signed l.l. "Fahrielnissa Zeid". Provenance: Inherited from Cuban-born great-grandmother, who was an art enthusiast, and passed down to the consignor.
Nye & Company
Apr. 30, 2026
Untitled
Est: £15,000 - £25,000
Fahrelnissa Zeid (1901 - 1991) Untitled signed Fahr El Nissa (faintly, lower right); later inscribed by Şirin Devrim (to the reverse) watercolour, gouache and ink on paper 17.5 by 24.5 cm. 6 ⅞ by 9 ⅝ in. framed: 32.4 by 39.2 cm. 12 ¾ by 15 ⅜ in. Executed in circa mid 1940s - early 1950s. The authenticity of this work has kindly been confirmed by the Family of the Artist.
Sotheby's
Jan. 31, 2026
Untitled
Est: $25,000 - $35,000
Fahrelnissa Zeid 1901 - 1991 Untitled signed Fahrelnissa and dated '49 (lower right) watercolor, gouache and ink on paper 24.5 by 32.5 cm. 9 ½ by 12 ¾ in. Executed in 1949.
Sotheby's
Dec. 12, 2025
Fahr-el-Nissa ZEID (1901-1991) Turkish - Jordanian
Est: €40,000 - €60,000
Fahrel Nissa ZEID (1901-1991) Turkey - France - Jordan ; Flowers ; c.1940s ; oil on canvas ; dimensions 65 x 54 cm (25 1/2 x 21 1/4 in.) ; signed lower left corner ; Shipping to USA - DHL €430 , National post with tracking service €285 / Shipping to EU, Middle Assia - DHL €330 , National post with tracking service €215
Art-Torg
Nov. 18, 2025
Fahrelnissa Zeid
Est: €30,000 - €40,000
(Büyükada, Turkey 1901–1991 Amman, Jordan) Portrait, late 1950s/1960, signed F H on the reverse, oil on canvas, 90 x 90 cm, framed The authenticity of this work was confirmed by the artist’s son. We are grateful to Dr. Adila Laidi-Hanieh for her generous assistance with the cataloguing of this work. Provenance: Private Collection, Italy (directly from the artist) European Private Collection We are delighted to present, for the first time at Dorotheum’s Modern Art auction, a work by the pioneering Turkish painter Fahrelnissa Zeid. Princess Fahrelnissa Zeid was a prominent figure of 20th-century modernism. Born on December 6, 1901, into a prominent Ottoman family in Istanbul, she studied at the Istanbul Women’s Fine Arts Academy – one of the very few women to do so at the time. In 1928, she continued her studies at the Académie Ranson in Paris, where she embraced modernist and expressionist movements. In 1933, Zeid married Iraqi diplomat Prince Zeid Al-Hussein, a member of the Hashemite Royal Family. By 1935, she had assumed the role of a diplomat’s wife in Berlin, and with the outbreak of the Second World War, the family relocated to Baghdad. During the 1940s and 1950s, while dividing her time between London, Paris, and Istanbul – where she held her first solo exhibition in 1944 – Zeid developed her signature monumental abstract paintings. These works influenced by her Byzantine culture are distinguished by kaleidoscopic patterns, vibrant colors, and a dynamic sense of rhythm and movement. Zeid quickly established herself within the flourishing post-war European art scene, participating in over fifty exhibitions across Europe, the United States, and the Middle East. Her 1948 exhibition at St. George’s Gallery in London was followed in 1950 by a landmark achievement: she became the first artist from the Middle East to be exhibited in a major commercial gallery in New York. From the 1960s onward, Zeid returned to portraiture and began experimenting with unconventional materials. The present Portrait was painted in Ischia in the early 1960s, a period when Zeid had chosen the Italian island as her summer retreat. According to the artist’s heirs, the sitter has been identified as the partner of the estate’s cook. This work displays all the hallmarks of Zeid’s portraiture: the large, expressive eyes that dominate the composition, and facial features defined through swift, textured brushstrokes. These same characteristics can be found in her 1944 Self-Portrait and in Someone from the Past (1980), both of which were included in the major retrospective dedicated to Fahrelnissa Zeid at Tate Modern, London, in 2017. “Fahrelnissa Zeid lived and worked in Turkey, Europe and Jordan but felt that as an artist she belonged: 'neither to a country, nor to a religion. I was born on this earth. I am made of this matter, and everything that relates to it interests me.' ” - Dr Adila Laidi-Hanieh
Dorotheum
Nov. 11, 2025
FAHRELNISSA ZEID (1901, BÜYÜKADA - 1991, AMMAN). Untitled. watercolour and
Est: £8,000 - £12,000
FAHRELNISSA ZEID (1901, BÜYÜKADA - 1991, AMMAN). Untitled. watercolour and ink on paper laid on card12 7/8 x 15 ½in. (32.8 x 39.5cm.).
Christie's
Oct. 28, 2025
Untitled (Green Abstract)
Est: £8,000 - £12,000
Fahrelnissa Zeid (1901 -1991) Untitled (Green Abstract) signed Fahr El Nissa Zeid (lower right); signed F.Z (upper left) watercolour, gouache and China ink on heavy paper 44 by 32 cm. 17 ¼ by 12 ⅝ in. framed: 53 by 41 cm. 20 ⅞ by 16 ⅛ in. Executed in circa 1950s. We are grateful to Adila Laïdi-Hanieh for her generous assistance with the research and cataloguing of this work.
Sotheby's
Oct. 28, 2025
Untitled (Red Abstract)
Est: £8,000 - £12,000
Fahrelnissa Zeid (1901 - 1991) Untitled (Red Abstract) signed Fahr El Nissa Zeid (lower right) watercolour, gouache and China ink on paper 50.8 by 39.8 cm. 20 by 15 ⅝ in. framed: 60 by 49 cm. 23 ⅝ by 19 ¼ in. Executed in circa 1950s. We are grateful to Adila Laïdi-Hanieh for her generous assistance with the research and cataloguing of this work.
Sotheby's
Oct. 28, 2025
Carnations
Est: £40,000 - £60,000
Fahrelnissa Zeid (1901 - 1991) Carnations signed Fahrelnissa Zeid (lower right) oil on board 51 by 44 cm. 20 by 17 ¼ in. framed: 69.5 by 62 cm. 27 ⅜ by 24 ⅜ in. Executed in 1946. We are grateful to Dr Adila Laïdi-Hanieh for her generous assistance with the research and cataloguing of this work.
Sotheby's
Oct. 28, 2025
High Seas at Eastbourne
Est: £20,000 - £30,000
Fahrelnissa Zeid (1901 - 1991) High Seas at Eastbourne signed, dated and inscribed Fahrelnissa Zeid, 1948, Eastbourne (lower right) gouache, ink and pastel on paper mounted on card 61 by 48.5 cm. 24 by 19 ⅛ in. framed: 94.5 by 86.5 cm. 37 ½ by 34 in. Executed in 1948. We are grateful to Adila Laïdi-Hanieh for her generous assistance with the research and cataloguing of this work.
Sotheby's
Oct. 05, 2025
Fahrelnissa Zeid – Ship and Islands
Est: ₺400,000 - ₺450,000
Signed watercolor by Fahrelnissa Zeid (1901–1991), a modernist figurative work depicting ships and islands. Dimensions: 14 x 23 cm
Clar Auction
Sep. 16, 2025
Constantin Terechkovitch, 1902-1978 (Russia/France)
Est: £12,000 - £18,000
Constantin (Costia) Terechkovitch (1902-1978). Nathalie with a Chair. 1949-50. Oil on canvas, size 75 x 45 cm (29 1/2 inches x 17 3/4 inches). Framed. Signed lower leftt. Provenance: Auction ‘MacDougall’s Auctions’ 06/06/2011-06/09/2011. Estimate $21345-$24630.
Cultural Tradition
Jul. 06, 2025
Fahr-el-Nissa ZEID (Turquie, 1901-1991) Composition, 1949
Est: €7,000 - €10,000
Fahr-el-Nissa ZEID (Turquie, 1901-1991) Composition, 1949 Signée "Fahr el Nissa Zeid", située et datée "Londres 1949" en bas à droite Technique mixte sur papier 57 × 78 cm Peint en 1949 Collection particulière, Paris. Acquise directement auprès de l’artiste et restée dans la même famille depuis. *** Signed "Fahr el Nissa Zeid", located and dated "London 1949" lower right Mixed media on paper Painted in 1949 Private collection, Paris. Acquired directly from the artist and has remained in the same family since. Millon a le plaisir de présenter pour la première fois sur le marché cette œuvre rare de Fahr el Nissa Zeid, datée de 1949 et réalisée à Londres. Il s’agit d’un travail sur papier d’une grande liberté, qui témoigne d’un moment charnière dans la carrière de l’artiste, alors qu’elle s’éloigne de la figuration pour se tourner vers une abstraction personnelle, vibrante et colorée. L’année 1949 est une période de transition : installée à Londres, Zeid y développe un langage pictural unique, nourri par ses voyages, sa culture ottomane et les influences modernistes européennes. Elle travaille alors dans un atelier au sein de l’ambassade d’Irak, aux côtés de son mari, le prince Zeid al-Hussein. Première femme turque à intégrer le groupe d’avant-garde D Grubu dans les années 1940, formée à l’Académie Ranson à Paris, Zeid s’impose peu à peu comme une figure majeure de l’art moderne du Moyen-Orient. Son œuvre a depuis été exposée dans les plus grandes institutions, dont la Tate Modern ou le musée d’Art moderne de Doha. Cette feuille, conservée pendant plus de 70 ans dans la même famille, n’a jamais été exposée ni publiée. Sa présentation aujourd’hui constitue une découverte importante pour les amateurs de l’artiste. *** Millon is proud to present this rare work by Fahr el Nissa Zeid, shown here for the first time on the market. Dated 1949 and created in London, it is a free and expressive composition on paper that marks a pivotal period in the artist’s development—when she began moving away from figuration toward a vibrant and personal form of abstraction. The year 1949 was one of transition: based in London, Zeid was forging a unique visual language that drew on her Ottoman roots, extensive travels, and exposure to European modernism. She worked from a studio inside the Iraqi embassy, where she lived with her husband, Prince Zeid al-Hussein. The first Turkish woman to join the avant-garde D Group in the 1940s, and trained at the Académie Ranson in Paris, Zeid would go on to become a central figure in the history of modern art in the Middle East. Her work has since been exhibited at major institutions including Tate Modern and the Mathaf in Doha. This piece, held privately for over 70 years, has never been exhibited or published. Its appearance today marks a significant rediscovery for collectors and admirers of the artist.
Millon & Associes
May. 21, 2025
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) La Mer Rouge (The Red Sea)
Est: £30,000 - £50,000
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) La Mer Rouge (The Red Sea) oil on canvas signed 'F.Z' on the verso, executed circa 1950s 89.5 x 56.5cm (35 1/4 x 22 1/4in).
Bonhams
May. 01, 2025
Abstract (From the London Series)
Est: £70,000 - £100,000
Fahrelnissa Zeid (1901 - 1991) Abstract (From the London Series) oil on canvas 130 by 90 cm. 51 ⅛ by 35 ⅜ in. framed: 144.5 by 104 cm. 56 ⅞ by 40 ⅞ in. Executed in 1959. We are grateful to Dr Adila Laïdi-Hanieh for her generous assistance with the research and cataloguing of this work.
Sotheby's
Dec. 19, 2024
Fahr-el-Nissa ZEID (Turquie, 1901-1991) Untitled
Est: €7,000 - €10,000
Fahr-el-Nissa ZEID (Turquie, 1901-1991) Untitled Signé trois foix; signé, localisé et daté "Fahr-El-Nissa ZEID Cannes 1952" (en bas à gauche); signé et intitulé en arabe "Fahr-El-Nissa ZEID Ghame" (en bas à droite), signé en arabe "Fahr-El-Nissa ZEID" (au revers) Encre et aquarelle sur papier (recto et verso ) 49 x 63 cm peint en 1952 *** Signed three times : signed, localized and dated "Fahr-El-Nissa Zeid Canne 1952" lower left ; signed and titled in arabic "Fahr-El-Nissa ZIED Ghame" lower right ; signed in arabic "Fahr-El-Nissa ZEID" on the reverse ink and aquarel on paper painted in 1952
Millon & Associes
Nov. 04, 2024
FAHRELNISSA ZEID (1901, BÜYÜKADA - 1991, AMMAN). Untitled. watercolour and
Est: £10,000 - £15,000
FAHRELNISSA ZEID (1901, BÜYÜKADA - 1991, AMMAN). Untitled. watercolour and ink on paper 19 7⁄8 x 16 ½in. (50.5 x 41.8cm.) ; 21 ¼ x 15 3⁄8in. (54 x 39.1cm.) (2).
Christie's
Nov. 04, 2024
FAHRELNISSA ZEID (1901, BÜYÜKADA - 1991, AMMAN). Untitled. oil on canvas 13
Est: £15,000 - £25,000
FAHRELNISSA ZEID (1901, BÜYÜKADA - 1991, AMMAN). Untitled. oil on canvas 13 7⁄8 x 9 5⁄8in. (35.3 x 24.3cm.).
Christie's
Oct. 27, 2024
ATTR FAHRELNISSA ZEID TURKISH ABSTRACT OIL PAINTING
Est: $100 - $150
Attributed to Princess Fahrelnissa Zeid, Turkish, 1901 to 1991, oil painting on canvas depicting an abstract composition, 1981. Signed and dated, on the backside. Framed. Princess Fahrelnissa Zeid was a Turkish artist best known for her large-scale abstract paintings with kaleidoscopic patterns as well as her drawings, lithographs, and sculptures. Zeid was one of the first women to go to art school in Istanbul. She lived in different cities and became part of the avant garde scenes in 1940s Istanbul, and post war Paris, there becoming part of the new School of Paris. Her work has been exhibited at various institutions in Paris, New York, and London, including the Institute of Contemporary Art in 1954. In the 1970s, she moved to Amman, Jordan, where she established an art school. In 2017, Tate Modern in London organised a major retrospective and called her one of the greatest female artists of the 20th century. Modern and Contemporary Turkish and European Fine Art, Abstract Oil Paintings, Wall Art, and Collectibles. One of a kind artwork.
Antique Arena Inc
Oct. 12, 2024
TURKISH OIL PAINTING SIGNED FAHRELNISSA ZEID
Est: $100 - $150
A vintage oil on canvas painting depicting a complex Abstract composition in primary colors signed Fahrelnissa Zeid and dated 1981 on the backside. Princess Fahrelnissa Zeid, 1901 to 1991, a Turkish Abstract artist, one of the first women to go to art school in Istanbul. Framed. Collectible Modernist Fine Art, Women Artists.
Antique Arena Inc
Sep. 26, 2024
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turquie, 1900-1991) Lever du soleil, Ischia
Est: €50,000 - €80,000
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turquie, 1900-1991) Lever du soleil, Ischia signé ' Fahr El Nissa Zeid' en bas à gauche, tamponné ' NUMERO, Galleria d'Arte, Fiamma Vigo – Nino Bartoletti, Venezia' et étiquetté ' Vigo Fiamma, Zeid' au revers; étiquette de l'exposition pour Ischia de la Galleria II Centro, Napoli, au revers huile sur toile 72 x 135cm (28 3/8 x 53 1/8in). Exécuté en 1961. (Cette oeuvre est encadrée). signed ' Fahr El Nissa Zeid' lower left, stamped ' NUMERO, Galleria d'Arte, Fiamma Vigo – Nino Bartoletti, Venezia' and labelled ' Vigo Fiamma, Zeid' on the verso; further stamped with a Galleria Il Centro, Napoli, exhibition label for Ischia on the verso. oil on canvas
Bonhams
Aug. 24, 2024
ATTR FAHRELNISSA ZEID TURKISH ABSTRACT OIL PAINTING
Est: $100 - $150
Attributed to Princess Fahrelnissa Zeid, Turkish, 1901 to 1991, oil painting on canvas depicting an abstract composition, 1981. Signed and dated, on the backside. Framed. Princess Fahrelnissa Zeid was a Turkish artist best known for her large-scale abstract paintings with kaleidoscopic patterns as well as her drawings, lithographs, and sculptures. Zeid was one of the first women to go to art school in Istanbul. She lived in different cities and became part of the avant garde scenes in 1940s Istanbul, and post war Paris, there becoming part of the new School of Paris. Her work has been exhibited at various institutions in Paris, New York, and London, including the Institute of Contemporary Art in 1954. In the 1970s, she moved to Amman, Jordan, where she established an art school. In 2017, Tate Modern in London organised a major retrospective and called her one of the greatest female artists of the 20th century. Modern and Contemporary Turkish and European Fine Art, Abstract Oil Paintings, Wall Art, and Collectibles. One of a kind artwork.
Antique Arena Inc
Jun. 05, 2024
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) A Rooster at Dawn
Est: £40,000 - £60,000
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) A Rooster at Dawn oil on canvas, framed signed 'F.Z.H' (lower right), executed circa early 1960s 102 x 76cm (40 3/16 x 29 15/16in).
Bonhams
Jun. 05, 2024
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Le Rouge et le Noir
Est: £20,000 - £30,000
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Le Rouge et le Noir oil on canvas signed 'F.Z' on the verso, executed circa 1950s 41 x 56cm (16 1/8 x 22 1/16in).
Bonhams
Jun. 01, 2024
TURKISH ABSTRACT OIL PAINTING BY FAHRELNISSA ZEID
Est: $100 - $150
Oil on canvas painting by Princess Fahrelnissa Zeid, 1901 to 1991, a Turkish Abstract artist, one of the first women to go to art school in Istanbul. The painting depicts an abstract kaleidoscopic pattern in primary colors. Ca. 1950s. Signed by the artist on the backside. Collectible Mid Century Modernist Fine Art, Women Artists.
Antique Arena Inc
May. 31, 2024
FAHRELNISSA ZEID (1901, BÜYÜKADA - 1991, AMMAN) Pink Composition; Blue Comp
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
FAHRELNISSA ZEID (1901, BÜYÜKADA - 1991, AMMAN) Pink Composition; Blue Composition watercolour and ink on paper 22 1⁄8 x 16 1⁄8in. (56.3 x 41cm.); 20 ½ x 16 3⁄8in. (52 x 41.6cm.) (2)
Christie's
Apr. 25, 2024
Untitled (View from the Artist's studio onto Tesvikiye Caddesi)
Est: £80,000 - £120,000
Fahrelnissa Zeid (1901 - 1991) Untitled (View from the Artist's studio onto Tesvikiye Caddesi ) oil on canvas 60 by 65cm.; 23½ by 25½ in. framed: 63 by 68 cm.; 24¾ by 26¾ in. Executed in circa 1940-5. Sotheby’s is grateful to Dr Adila Laïdi-Hanieh for her insights on the present lot.
Sotheby's
Apr. 25, 2024
Fahr-el-Nissa ZEID (1901-1991)
Est: €60,000 - €80,000
Fahr-el-Nissa ZEID (1901-1991) Constellation Oil on canvas Signed lower right Countersigned on the back 196 x 97 cm Provenance Collection of Madame Ménard, friend and neighbor of Fahr-el-Nissa Zeid Private collection Publication: Adila Laïdi-hanieh author of the book Fahrelnissa Zeid: Painter of Inner Word Update on the inclusion of Fahrelnissa Zeid in the Présences Arabes exhibition at MAM Paris. on 04.04.2024 Feedback on the inclusion of Fahrelnissa Zeid in the Présences Arabes exhibition. MAM Paris. This exhibition is a welcome and overdue opportunity to showcase generations of overlooked artists in the very city where their practice flourished, and to discover stunning artworks & practices. However, since the exhibition is articulated around the twin poles of Arab cultures/identities & of colonial temporalities & relationships, Fahrelnissa Zeid (1901-1991,) an a-political Turkish artist, should not figure in it, and certainly not via a less than rigorous presentation. Her native country was not colonized, let alone by France. She chose to come to France in the 1920s as a Francophile with her Turkish husband the writer Melih Devrim seeking art education & inspiration, rather than in the schema of a colonized subject in a colonial metropolis. Her latter two Arab adoptive countries -Iraq then Jordan- were also not colonized by France, so it is odd that her paintings would be placed in the “decolonizations” section of the exhibition. More importantly, her corpus is apolitical. Unlike her son Turkish artist Nejad Devrim -who does not figure in this exhibition- she explicitly eschewed -for better or for worse- political claims or engagement for her art practice. Further, unlike many of her contemporaries in Türkiye and other artists in this exhibition, she was also explicitly uninterested in hybridizing culturally specific traditions and heritage in her modernist art practice. If one grants her presence in this showcase because she is an Arab artist by adoption and look past her non existing colonial relationships and cultural-political engagements, then one still notices odd errors and omissions on the wall texts, & troubling orientalist appreciations. The two Fahrelnissa Zeid paintings at MAM hang next to the trivial and sexist heading of “cosmopolitan comet.” What can this convey for better understanding her art practice, inspiration, and evolutions? Rather, what is alluded to in this title is confirmed in the following wall text, a rehash of refuted orientalist appreciations, to wit: “Merging her [sic] Byzantine, European, and Islamic influences, her […] paintings captivate […] a mosaic-covered vault or dome.” One almost expects the words 1001 Nights & Arabesque to follow. Such an appreciation can only be warranted by a perception of Fahrelnissa Zeid’s cultural origins frozen into an orientalist projection, rather than being fact based. Fahrelnissa Zeid’s own words attest to vastly different influences, motives & inspirations, as I elucidate in my 2017 biography of the artist. As for the factual mistakes in the wall texts of the exhibition, as they relate to Fahrelnissa Zeid: After her 1928 studies in Paris, Fahrelnissa Zeid delved into an expressionist figurative practice, and was never a cubist painter. Iraq did not gain independence in 1958. Iraq was admitted into the league of Nations in 1932 and was a founding member of the UN in 1945. Fahrelnissa Zeid only studied at the Ranson Academy in Paris, neither under Lhôte nor Léger. Fahrelnissa Zeid never studied at a “studio StahlBlech.” In addition to these mistakes and orientalist framings, important omissions regarding her career as a whole & relationship to Paris exist, such as the fact that she was the first woman of any nationality to have a solo exhibition at the ICA in London, or that she was the first Middle Eastern artist to exhibit in a New York commercial gallery, or her ties to Malraux and Jacques Jaujard, or her exhibitions at la Hune and with Katia Granoff, or her invention of her unique “paléokrystalos”, or her pioneering practice of abstraction as a Turkish artist, or her pioneering dissemination of abstraction in Jordan, etc. All of Fahrelnissa Zeid’s Parisian contemporaries, have already been celebrated in retrospectives at Paris museums. It is disappointing that in 2024, she, a founding member of the Nouvelle Ecole de Paris, is relegated to a mistake ridden cliché. Constellation Huile sur toile Signée en bas à droite Contresignée au dos 196 x 97 cm Provenance Collection de Madame Ménard, amie et voisine de Fahr-el-Nissa Zeid Collection privée
Maison Verneuil
Feb. 27, 2024
Fahr-el-Nissa ZEID, 1901-1991 (Turkey/France)
Est: £200,000 - £400,000
Fahr-el-Nissa ZEID (1901-1991). Untitled, c.1940s. Oil on canvas, size 45 x 192,5 cm (17 3/4 x 75 3/4 inches). Signed middle bottom.
Cultural Traditions
Nov. 15, 2023
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Untitled (Red Abstraction)
Est: £6,000 - £8,000
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Untitled (Red Abstraction) mixed media on paper signed 'FAHR EL NISSA ZEID' (lower right and upper right), executed circa 1950s 48 x 38cm (18 7/8 x 14 15/16in).
Bonhams
Nov. 15, 2023
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Untiled (Green Abstraction)
Est: £6,000 - £8,000
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Untiled (Green Abstraction) mixed media on card signed 'FAHR EL NISSA ZEID' (lower right), executed circa 1950s 49 x 38cm (19 5/16 x 14 15/16in).
Bonhams
Oct. 26, 2023
Fahr-el-Nissa ZEID (1901-1991)
Est: €50,000 - €70,000
Fahr-el-Nissa ZEID (1901-1991) - View of the Blue Mosque Oil on canvas Signed lower right, countersigned and located Istembul on the back 126 x 123 cm PROVENANCE Collection of Madame Ménard, friend and neighbor of Fahr-el-Nissa ZEID, Private collection - Vue de la Mosquée Bleue Huile sur toile Signée en bas à droite, contresignée et située Istembul au dos 126 x 123 cm PROVENANCE Collection de Madame Ménard, amie et voisine de Fahr-el-Nissa ZEID, Collection privée
Maison Verneuil
Oct. 24, 2023
Ischia
Est: £350,000 - £550,000
Fahrelnissa Zeid (1901 - 1991) Ischia Inscribed Ischia 1965 and signed, dated, and dedicated Fahrelnissa Zeid, Amman, 30 March 1981 (to the reverse) oil on canvas 121 by 90 cm. 47¾by 35½in. framed: 128 by 97 cm. 50¼by 38 in. Executed in 1965.
Sotheby's
Aug. 04, 2023
Fahr-el-Nissa ZEID (1901-1991) Turkish - Jordania
Est: $40,000 - $60,000
Fahr-el-Nissa ZEID (1901-1991) ; Untitled abstract ; c. 1960s ; oil on canvas / unframed ; dimensions 24,5 x 35 cm (9 2/3 x 13 3/4 in.) ; signed lower right corner and on verso ; Shipping to USA - DHL $340 , National post with tracking service $235 / Shipping to EU, Middle Assia - DHL $270 , National post with tracking service $195
Art-Torg
Jul. 05, 2023
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Etoile Filante (Falling Star)
Est: €50,000 - €70,000
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Etoile Filante ( Falling Star) oil on canvas, framed signed 'FAHRELNISSA ZEID' (lower right) and on the verso, executed early 1960s 160 x 95cm (63 x 37 3/8in).
Bonhams
Jul. 05, 2023
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Abstraction III
Est: €800 - €1,000
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Abstraction III lithograph executed circa 1950s 50 x 65cm (19 11/16 x 25 9/16in).
Bonhams
Jul. 05, 2023
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Abstraction II
Est: €800 - €1,000
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Abstraction II lithograph signed 'Fahr El Nissa Zeid' and numbered '1/20', number 1 from an edition of 20, executed circa 1950s 50 x 56cm (19 11/16 x 22 1/16in).
Bonhams
Jul. 05, 2023
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Abstraction I
Est: €800 - €1,000
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Abstraction I lithograph, unframed signed 'Fahr El Nissa Zeid', executed circa 1950s 55 x 42cm (21 5/8 x 16 9/16in).
Bonhams
May. 24, 2023
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Lavender
Est: £20,000 - £30,000
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Lavender oil on canvas executed circa 1950s 72 x 58cm (28 3/8 x 22 13/16in).
Bonhams
May. 24, 2023
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Untitled
Est: £2,000 - £4,000
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Untitled pen, ink and gouache on paper laid on card executed circa 1950 25 x 17cm (9 13/16 x 6 11/16in).
Bonhams
May. 24, 2023
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Untitled
Est: £2,000 - £4,000
Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Untitled pen, ink and gouache on paper laid on card executed circa 1950 18 x 24cm (7 1/16 x 9 7/16in).
Bonhams