Description
Book SynopsisA pioneer among Palestinian artists, Sophie Halaby was the first Arab woman to study art in Paris, subsequently living independently as a professional painter in Jerusalem throughout her life. Schor's compelling biography shines new light on this little-known artist and enriches our understanding of modern Palestinian history.
Trade ReviewA rich, nuanced, and sensitive treatment of this brilliant but often neglected painter. The work is especially
valuable for its investigation of Halaby’s formative years as a Russo-Palestinian artist growing up in Kiev and Mandate Palestine.
Schor’s skillful and painterly approach to Sophie Halaby’s life, work and city gives insight into the remarkable character of a Arab-Russian woman . . . and into her cosmopolitan city of Jerusalem, sketching for us memories
of a place that we can barely perceive through the dismal haze of the Israeli-Arab conflict. Like Sophie Halaby’s paintings and work, Schor’s book outlines the wispy contours of a world full of potential where the salons of Paris were just a steamer ticket away for an aspiring Arab woman artist, but one that is constricted by war, colonialism, nationalism, and expropriation over the course of the twentieth century.
