Karimeh Abbud or Karimeh Abboud (18 November 1893 – 27 April 1940; ar, كريمة عبّود), was a

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

professional

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

and

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

who lived and worked in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

in the first half of the twentieth century. She was one of the first woman photographers in the Arab World.

Biography

Karimeh Abbud was born in

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

. Her father Said Abbud, was working as a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, after the family had moved from

Khiam Khiam ( ar, الخيام; sometimes spelled Khiyam) is a large town in the Nabatieh Governorate of Southern Lebanon. Location Khiam is situated approximately south from the capital city of Beirut and south-east from the city of Nabatieh. The bo ...

, in South of Lebanon to

.Beirut Image Festival 2019 Catalogue, September 4 - October 5, 2019. P.9 At the turn of the century, he became

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

church for the following five decades. Karimeh was the second of six children. She completed her elementary education at " Talitha Koumi" school. Her mother, Barbara Badr, was also a teacher. She first began to take an interest in photography in 1913, after receiving a

camera A camera is an Optics, optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), ...

from her father as a gift for her 17th birthday. Her first photos were of family, friends and the landscape in Bethlehem and her first signed picture is dated October 1919. While studying

Arabic literature Arabic literature ( ar, الأدب العربي / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is '' Adab'', which is derived from ...

at the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, she took a trip to

Baalbek Baalbek (; ar, بَعْلَبَكّ, Baʿlabakk, Syriac-Aramaic: ܒܥܠܒܟ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In Greek and Roman ...

to photograph

archaeological sites An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and ...

there. In 1929, she married a merchant from Marjayoun with whom she had a son, Samir.The Female Photographer Who Captured Palestinian Lives 100 Years Ago

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

Photography career

She set up a home studio, earning money by taking photos of women and children, weddings and other ceremonies. She also took numerous photos of public spaces in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

, Nazareth, Bethlehem and

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Fo ...

. By the 1930s she worked as a professional photographer in Nazareth. Her grandfather had been a senior pharmacist at the Nazareth English Hospital and her father had served there as a pastor. When local Nazareth photographer Fadil Saba moved to Haifa, Karimeh's studio work was in high demand for weddings and portraits in particular. The work she produced in this period was stamped in Arabic and English with the words: "Karimeh Abbud - Lady Photographer - كريمة عبود: مصورة شمس". In the mid-1930s, she began offering hand-painted copies of studio photographs. In 1924, she described herself as the "only national photographer."

Collection and exhibitions

Original copies of her extensive portfolio have been collected by Ahmed Mrowat, Director of the Nazareth Archives Project. In 2006, Bouky Boaz, an

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

antiquities Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Artifacts from earlier periods such as the Meso ...

collector, discovered over 400 original prints of Abbud's in a home in the Qatamon quarter of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

that had been abandoned by its owners fleeing the Israeli occupation in 1948. Many are signed by the artist. An exhibition of photographs by Abbud has opened at the Museum of Islamic and Near Eastern Cultures in

Be'er Sheva Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...

. The exhibition focuses on tourism to Palestine based on souvenirs such as postcards, maps, spices, books and dried flowers.

Tribute

On 18 November 2016,

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

dedicated a

Doodle A doodle is a drawing made while a person's attention is otherwise occupied. Doodles are simple drawings that can have concrete representational meaning or may just be composed of random and abstract lines or shapes, generally without ever lift ...

to Karimeh Abbud on the 123rd anniversary of her birth. The Doodle reached all the countries of the

Arab World The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

References

Gallery; postcards by Karimeh Abbud, from ca 1925-1930

File:Abbud01C.jpg, 1.

NAZARETH Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

File:Abbud02C.jpg, 2. NAZARETH File:Abbud05C.jpg, 5. NAZARETH -

Mount Tabor Mount Tabor ( he, הר תבור) (Har Tavor) is located in Lower Galilee, Israel, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, west of the Sea of Galilee. In the Hebrew Bible (Book of Joshua, Joshua, Book of Judges, Judges), Mount Tabor is the sit ...

File:Abbud06C.png, 6. NAZARETH - Mount Tabor - Basilica Church File:Abbud08C.jpg, 8. NAZARETH File:Abbud11C.jpg, 11. NAZARETH - Ploughing the fields File:Abbud12C.png, 12. NAZARETH - Trashing floor File:Abbud13C.jpg, 13.

TIBERIAS Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Fo ...

File:Abbud16C.jpg, 16.

HAIFA Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

File:Abbud17C.jpg, 17. HAIFA -

Mount Carmel Mount Carmel ( he, הַר הַכַּרְמֶל, Har haKarmel; ar, جبل الكرمل, Jabal al-Karmil), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias ( ar, link=no, جبل مار إلياس, Jabal Mār Ilyās, lit=Mount Saint Elias/Elijah), is a c ...

File:Abbud20C.jpg, 20.

Jacob's Well Jacob's Well ( ar, بِئْر يَعْقُوب, Biʾr Yaʿqūb; gr, Φρέαρ του Ιακώβ, Fréar tou Iakóv; he, באר יעקב, Beʾer Yaʿaqov), also known as Jacob's fountain and Well of Sychar, is a deep well constructed into ...

(Near Nablus) File:Abbud21C.png, 21.

BETHEL Bethel ( he, בֵּית אֵל, translit=Bēṯ 'Ēl, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; el, Βαιθήλ; la, Bethel) was an ancient Israelite sanct ...

- Group of Children File:Abbud22C.jpg, 22.

JERUSALEM Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

File:Abbud24C.jpg, 24.

River Jordan The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...

File:Abbud25C.png, 25. HEBRON - Abraham's oak File:Abbud26C.jpg, 26.

from the lake File:Abbud27C.png, 27. Sebastie Colonnade

Documentary films

* Mahasen Nasser-Eldin:
Restored Pictures.
' Documentary (22 minutes),

Palestinian Territories The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The I ...

2012, Vimeo (Arabic with English subtitles) * Issam Ballan:
Karimeh Abbud: The first Palestinian female photographer.
' Documentary (11 minutes), Palestinian Territories 2016, YouTube (Arabic)

External links

Mitri Raheb Mitri Raheb ( ar, متري الراهب) is a Palestinian Christian, the pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem (a member church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, or ELCJHL), and the found ...

:
Karimeh Abbud Entrepreneurship and Early Training
',

Jerusalem Quarterly The Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) is the oldest independent nonprofit public service research institute in the Arab world. It was established and incorporated in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1963 and has since served as a model for other such ins ...

, no 88, Winter 2021 * Marwan Asmar:
The ‘Lady Photographer’ of Palestine.
' In: ''Gulf News'' 3 January 2018 * Mary Pelletier:
Karimeh Abbud: Lady Photographer of Palestine
'' (PDF), grant report for Palestine Exploration Fund, 2016 * Mary Pelletier:
Who Was Karimeh Abbud? Part 1
,'' Palestine Exploration Fund Blog, 8 December 2016 * Issam Nassar:
Early Local Photography in Palestine: The Legacy of Karimeh Abbud
' (PDF), In: ''Jerusalem Quarterly'' 46 (2011), p23–31 {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbud, Karimeh 1893 births 1940 deaths People from Bethlehem Arabs in Ottoman Palestine Arab people in Mandatory Palestine Palestinian culture Photography in Lebanon 20th-century photographers Palestinian Christians Photography in the State of Palestine Palestinian women photographers Palestinian photographers Early photographers in Palestine 20th-century women photographers Palestinian people of Lebanese descent