Souhila Belbahar (alternatively Souhila Bel Bahar; 17 February 1934 – 23 March 2023) was an Algerian painter. In 2018, she was awarded Algeria's

National Order of Merit An order of merit is conferred by a state, government or royal family on an individual in recognition of military or civil merit. Order of merit may also refer to: * FIFA Order of Merit, for significant contribution to association football * PDC O ...

Biography

Belbahar was born in Blida, Algeria, in 1934. A self-taught artist, she held her first exhibition in 1971, at the age of 37. Since that time, she has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

. The Algerian Cultural Centre in Paris hosted a solo exhibition of Belbahar's works in 1986. Belbahar exhibited at the

National Museum of Fine Arts of Algiers The National Museum of Fine Arts in Algiers (french: Musée national des Beaux-Arts d'Alger) is one of the largest art museums in Africa. Opened to the public since 5 May 1930, it is located in the Hamma district, next to the Hamma test gard ...

in 1984. The museum held a retrospective exhibition of her works in 2008. In 2016, the museum published ''Il pleut des jasmins sur Alger'', a biography of Belbahar written by her daughter, Dalila Hafiz. In 2018, Belbahar was awarded the

by the Algerian Minister of Culture, Azzedine Mihoubi. Belbahar died on 23 March 2023, at the age of 89.L'artiste peintre Souhila Belbahar n'est plus

References

1934 births 2023 deaths Algerian women painters 20th-century Algerian women 20th-century Algerian people 20th-century Algerian painters People from Blida 21st-century Algerian people 20th-century women painters {{Africa-painter-stub