This month during Women’s History Month, we are honoring many trailblazing women artists.

Palestinian American artist, scholar, and art historian, Samia Halaby (b. 1936) is known for her vibrant abstract work. Halaby was eleven years old when she and her family were displaced from Palestine to Lebanon in 1948. In 1951, Halaby emigrated to Ohio in the United States. She was educated in the American Midwest and became a trailblazer when there were few female abstract painters. In her work, Halaby draws inspiration from her homeland—the textures and landscapes of Palestine such as native trees and Islamic architecture and geometry.

Image 1: Book cover

Image 2: “Mountains of Palestine,” detail, 2000, Acrylic on polyethylene, 72”x 172”

Image 3: “Mountains of Palestine” and studio view

Samia Halaby : five decades of painting and innovation [text, Maymanah Farhat]. Halaby, Samia. Added t. pg. title: Sāmiyah Ḥalabī : khamsat ʻuqīd min al-rasm wa-al-ibtikār سامية حلبي : خمسة عقود من الرسم والابتكار Beirut : Ayyam Gallery, [2010] English French Arabic HOLLIS number: 990129614060203941