Biography

Kayyali was born in Aleppo, Syria in 1934 and studied art in the Accademia di Belle Arti after having studied at the Al-Tajhiz School where his work was first exhibited in 1952. He met Syrian artist Wahbi Al-Hariri

Wahbi Al-Hariri

Mohamed Wahbi Al-Hariri Rifai , OAL, was an Arab-American artist, architect, and author.-Biography:Wahbi Al-Hariri was born in 1914 in Aleppo, Syria. He also lived in France, Italy, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the United States of America....

 there and the two would share a friendship for the rest of Kayyali's life. Al-Hariri would become his mentor as he was for artist Fateh Moudarres

Fateh Moudarres

Fateh al-Moudarres was a Syrian painter and one of the leaders of the modern art movement in Syria. Moudarres studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome, where he was influenced by Surrealism...

 that Hariri introduced to Kayyali in 1955. Moudarress and Kayyali would together represent Syrian modern art at the Venice Biennial Fair. He suffered from depression and died in 1978 from burns incurred from his bed catching fire, reportedly from a cigarette.

Return to Syria

He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome in 1961 and returned to Syria where he started his career as a fine arts professor at Damascus University where Fateh Moudarres

Fateh Moudarres

Fateh al-Moudarres was a Syrian painter and one of the leaders of the modern art movement in Syria. Moudarres studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome, where he was influenced by Surrealism...

 also taught.
That same year, the International Modern Art Hall of Damascus

Damascus

Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...

 hosted his exhibit of 28 oil paintings on canvas and 30 sketches.

Posthumous exchanges

In 2009, Bonham's Auction House sold one of Kayyali's paintings for $132,000.00.

In 2008, Christie's

Christie's

Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...

 auctioned off several of his paintings:

• Portrait of a Lady, $34,600.00
• Motherhood, $157,000.00
• The Laundrette, $43,000.00

See also

• Wahbi Al-Hariri
  Wahbi Al-Hariri
  Mohamed Wahbi Al-Hariri Rifai , OAL, was an Arab-American artist, architect, and author.-Biography:Wahbi Al-Hariri was born in 1914 in Aleppo, Syria. He also lived in France, Italy, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the United States of America....
  
  
• Fateh Moudarres
  Fateh Moudarres
  Fateh al-Moudarres was a Syrian painter and one of the leaders of the modern art movement in Syria. Moudarres studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome, where he was influenced by Surrealism...