A Painting That Carried a Lifetime of Memories
During Lebanon’s civil war, Armenian-Lebanese artist Paul Guiragossian refused to leave one painting behind. As shelling and gunfire forced his family to flee to shelters, he would remove the self-portrait from its place above the piano and carry it with him.
For his daughter, Manuella Guiragossian, the sight became an unforgettable childhood memory. Today, the 1948 painting is being exhibited outside Lebanon for the first time at the Bassam Freiha Art Foundation in Abu Dhabi, revealing a deeply personal story of displacement, resilience and belonging.
An Artwork Rooted in Displacement
Created in 1948, the self-portrait dates to the year Guiragossian and his family were displaced from Jerusalem during the Nakba. He was forced to leave many of his artworks behind, including an earlier self-portrait he considered among his finest works.
The painting he created that year became a reminder of loss and displacement, experiences that also connected with his parents’ history as survivors of the Armenian genocide.
Abu Dhabi Hosts a Century of Artistic Legacy
The painting features in Paul Guiragossian: 100 Years of Art, a retrospective at the Bassam Freiha Art Foundation on Saadiyat Island. Running from October 17, 2026, to January 17, 2027, the exhibition brings together rarely seen paintings, drawings, archival photographs and personal materials.
Co-curated by his daughter Manuella Guiragossian and the foundation’s head curator, Dr Michaela Watrelot, the exhibition explores the artist’s life through his relationships, memories and creative evolution.
Family, Colour and the Human Experience
The retrospective highlights three women who shaped Guiragossian’s life and work: his mother, Rahel; his wife, Juliette; and his daughter, Manuella.
His early paintings often featured subdued earth tones, reflecting a period of sadness and introspection. As marriage and fatherhood brought new experiences into his life, his artistic palette grew increasingly vibrant.
Over the decades, his elongated figures, expressive brushstrokes and closely gathered human forms became defining features of his work. Themes of motherhood, family, grief and belonging remained central to his artistic vision.
L’Adieu: A Final Artistic Statement
The exhibition also presents L’Adieu, Guiragossian’s final painting, completed in 1993. Its abstracted figures, layered in vivid reds, greens and yellows, bring together many of the artistic ideas he explored throughout his career.
Displayed alongside a self-portrait from the final year of his life, the work creates a powerful contrast with the intense gaze of his younger self in the 1948 painting.
Together, these portraits frame a lifetime shaped by displacement, war, family and artistic discovery.
When Art Becomes a Keeper of Memory
The story of the self-portrait goes beyond its artistic significance. It reflects the emotional connections that can make an artwork irreplaceable—a link to home, identity and experiences that cannot be left behind.
By bringing this treasured painting to Abu Dhabi, the Guiragossian family is sharing a deeply personal chapter of the artist’s life with a wider audience.
- Exhibition: Paul Guiragossian: 100 Years of Art
- Venue: Bassam Freiha Art Foundation, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi
- Dates: October 17, 2026 – January 17, 2027
- Admission: Free
