Khalid Al Qassab

Khalid Al-Qassab (1924–2004) was an Iraqi artist and esteemed surgeon, renowned for his contributions to both the medical and art communities. Born in Baghdad, he pursued a medical degree at the University of Baghdad, graduating in 1946. His medical career was distinguished; he obtained a fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons in London in 1954 and later specialized in cancer surgery at the Memorial Hospital in New York in 1959. Al-Qassab served as a professor and head of the Department of Surgery at Baghdad University, earning recognition as one of Iraq's leading surgeons.

Parallel to his medical profession, Al-Qassab was deeply involved in the arts. In the early 1940s, he co-founded the "Société Primitive," which later evolved into the "Pioneers Group" (Jama'at Al-Ruwwad), a collective that played a pivotal role in Iraq's modern art movement. The group's inaugural exhibition was held in 1950 at his family's residence in Baghdad. Al-Qassab was also a founding member and the first secretary-general of the Iraqi Artists Association, established in 1956. His artistic oeuvre primarily comprised watercolors and oil paintings, often depicting landscapes and scenes from Iraqi life.

Throughout his artistic career, Al-Qassab participated in numerous exhibitions both domestically and internationally. Notably, he showcased his work at the 1956 Bandung exhibition in Indonesia and the 1957 exhibition in Beirut. In 1998, he received first prize at an exhibition in Walnut Creek, California, which featured over 106 artists specializing in watercolors. The following year, he held a solo exhibition at the Arab Cultural Center in San Francisco, where his watercolors depicting scenes of old Baghdad and the Tigris River were well-received. Al-Qassab continued his artistic endeavors until his passing in Amman, Jordan, on July 22, 2004.