Dr Khalid al-Jader was born in Baghdad, Iraq. He had a distinguished career as an Iraqi artist, scholar, and administrator throughout the mid-20th century. He gained degrees in both law and art by studying at the Institute of Fine Arts and the College of Law in Baghdad simultaneously. He then traveled to Paris in 1954 where he subsequently received a PhD in Islamic Art from the Sorbonne and joined the Salon de Paris. After returning to Baghdad, al-Jader held several prominent institutional positions, including deanship at the Institute of Fine Arts and the Academy of Fine Arts, which he helped to found. He was also the chair of the National Committee for Plastic Art with UNESCO. As an administrator, he was known to hold his students and employees to a high standard and was meticulous in his responsibilities.
Adding to this impressive résumé, al-Jader was also an active participant in several art groups, such as the Pioneers, the Impressionists, and the Society of Iraqi Plastic Artists. Palestinian writer Jabra Ibrahim Jabra described al-Jader’s artistic production as having a distinct Iraqi nature; indeed, his canvases are focused on the urban inlets of Baghdad, as well as the crannies of Iraqi village life. He interprets these scenes through sweeping brushstrokes, as well as quick, concentrated strokes of color. Al-Jader exhibited his own work extensively both locally and internationally. His works have been displayed in France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Poland, Russia, Poland, and Denmark.
Terracotta oil-lamps from Egypt's Theban region in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts, New York