Elite exhibition

ENAR

The American University of Beirut (AUB) recently acquired a major, never-exhibited-before collection of work by the artist Khalil Saleeby (1870-1928), who is considered the father of modern art in Lebanon. This collection was donated to AUB by Dr. Sameer Saleeby, 87, a distant relative of the artist, who had acquired part of it from his father, Shaheen Saleeby, and developed the rest by adding works of friends and students of the artist, such as Saliba Douaihy, Cesar Gemayel and Omar Onsi. The collection consists of about 60 paintings, 30 of which are of Saleeby’s work, and is well preserved in its original condition. Speaking at the opening of the exhibition on June 8, Dr. Saleeby said that he felt like the collection was his daughter and that he was now giving her up gladly. Indeed, he has been trying to find a suitable home for this collection for some eight