Hussein Bikar - Birth and Early Life

Birth and Early Life

Hussein Amin Ibrahim Bicar was born on 2 January 1913 near Anfoushi in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, Egypt. From the time of his childhood in Alexandria, Bicar seemed destined to be an artist. he could play the lute at the age of eight and by nine, he was in demand as a music teacher for society ladies who due to cultural restrictions could not use adult male teachers.

Bicar’s father died when he was young. His mother, who always encouraged his talents, moved him to cairo when he entered the Higher School of Fine Arts at age fifteen. This school on Khallat Street in Shoubra was founded privately in early 1900’s. All teachers were European and students were obliged to follow a curriculum based in western art. One of his teachers Friedman Cluezel from Sweden was especially important to Bicar’s artistic development. He recognized Bicar to be “gifted as a portrait artist”. To express his confidence, Cluezel asked the young student to draw his portrait—one of the first of many that Bicar produced over the years.

In 1928 the Higher School of Fine Arts was brought under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, and Egyptian artists who had studied in Europe began to be hired as assistants and later as teachers. These teachers brought a new spirit into the school as they promoted sensitivity for Egyptian heritage. Among them was the great sculptor, Mahmoud Mokhtar. In his senior year, Bicar was able to study with the best portrait artist in Egypt at that time, Ahmad Sabry, who became his mentor and lifelong friend.

Graduating at the top of his class in 1933, the bright young Bicar had dreams of a brilliant future as a free-lance artist, but the economic depression of the 1930’s introduced a harsh reality. Bicar did manage, however, to earn a living during these difficult times and, paradoxically, to develop a versatility that served him well throughout his career.