Lot 6: Abdul Hadi El-Gazzar (Egyptian, 1925-1965)

Abdul Hadi El-Gazzar (Egyptian, 1925-1965)
The Lady Rider
signed 'Elgazzar' (lower left) and signed 'EL GAZZAR' (lower right)
oil on board
12½ x 14½in. (32 x 37cm.)
Painted circa early 1950s

Sobhy Al-Sharouny, A Museum in a Book: The Farsi Art Collection "The Egyptian Works" Owned by Dr. Mohammed Said Farsi, Cairo, 1998 (illustrated in colour, p.292 and illustrated p.282 ref 14/38).
Sobhy Al-Sharouny, Abdel Hadi Al-Gazzar, Cairo, 2007 (illustrated in colour, p.56).
Enas Hosni, Contemporary Art Group: A Surviving Wealth of Admirable Art, Cairo, 2009 (illustrated in colour, p.64).

PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF DR. MOHAMMED SAID FARSI

In this painting El-Gazzar distorts a typical scene from a folk circus, much enjoyed by children, where three performers are dressed to resemble a horse and its rider. Two of them wear a horse costume while the third rides them. Here, however, the typical horse mask worn by the front performer resembles the face of a long-haired girl, and the 'horse' seems to be wearing red high-heeled shoes. The rider, meanwhile, has equally long hair and is wearing a clown's suit. The floor and walls are daubed with his typical folk decoration.