Lot 580: Adel El-Siwi , Egyptian B. 1952 Laila Mourad oil and pencil on board

signed twice; signed, titled and dated 2006 on the stretcher oil and pencil on board

measurements note 122 by 99.7cm.; 48 by 39in.

The glamorous diva Laila Mourad (1918- 1995), is one of the most celebrated of Egypt's golden actresses. Born to a prominent family of Egyptian composers and singers, her grand-father was an oud player, her father, Zaki Mourad, a famous singer and her brothers were composers. A beautiful actress and a gifted singer, she started her career singing in a play at the age of twelve. Her first appearance on the big screen came eight years later in 1938, as supporting actress to no less than the great icon Mohamad Abdel Wahab, in Long Live Love (Yahya al Hubb). She played the romantic lead in some thirty films, her earliest and most important were directed by her mentor Togo Mizrahi, who wrote an eponymous series especially for her. Laila Mourad encapsulates an era when Egypt was cosmopolitan, buzzing with beautiful talented actresses from all over the Arab world, an era of religious tolerance and unparalleled glamour.