Wahbi Al-Hariri

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Wahbi Al-Hariri-Rifai (1914-1994) Arab-American artist, architect, and author, born in Aleppo, Syria. Also lived in France, Italy, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the United States.

Born in 1914 in the historic city of Aleppo, Halab, Syria, Wahbi Al-Hariri's documented family tree spans over fourteen centuries. Some of his ancestors include Al-Kasem ben Ali Al-Hariri, the 11th century author of the Maquamat named after him, Ali Al-Hariri-Rifai the 13th century theologian, Mustapha Al-Hariri-Rifai the 18th century musician and theologian, and Abdelrahman Al-Hariri-Rifai the 19th century calligrapher and astronomer.

Wahbi Al-Hariri began drawing and sculpting as a child. Recognizing his talent, his father furthered his exceptional artistic development and encouraged him in 1932 to be one of the firsts known contemporary Middle-Easterners to travel to Italy to formally study art. In 1937, he graduated from the Accademia Reale di Belle Arti and the Istituto di Dante Alghieri in Rome.

Upon his return to Syria, his artistic work evolved to include sculptures, oil paintings, and photography. He also became actively engaged in archeology and was instrumental in the early efforts to preserve the historic ruins of the city of Palmyra, Tadmor, His studio was located in the heart of Aleppo’s old city, medinah, where it occupied several grand rooms on the second floor of an ancient home near the Citadel, al-qual’ah. During that time, his studio became an artistic and social rallying center, and a cauldron of opposition to the French mandate. In retaliation, the French forces burned the studio.

In 1948, two years after Syria’s independence, his talent won him a scholarship to Yale, but his artistic drive took him to Paris instead to study art and architecture at the world-renowned École des Beaux-Arts and historic preservation at the Louvre. In 1954, Wahbi Al-Hariri received his D.P.L.G. with honors and was awarded the highly coveted Beaux-Arts Bronze Medal of Distinction.

After returning to Syria he immersed himself in his artistic work, wrote extensively, taught, and won several architectural competitions. However, his hopes became frustrated by the growing sense of national unease and the political instability that was rocking the country. In 1965, a military coup caused the cancellation of a large exhibit of his work and the arrest of some of his acquaintances.

After a friend’s invitation to visit Saudi Arabia he unexpectedly decided to move to the Kingdom. There he grew enamored with the Arabian Peninsula’s still pristine vistas and became inspired by the many facets of its little known heritage.

In 1981, after an intensive period of research, travel, and on-site work in some of the Kingdom’s most remote areas, he completed an important collection of large graphite drawings illustrating Arabia’s significant architectural heritage. Subsequently, a full-size facsimile edition of this collection, entitled Traditional Architecture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was published in Florence, Italy, with the assistance of his son, Mokhless Al-Hariri.

The publication of this hand-printed art collector's folio brought about worldwide recognition of his classical artistic work and culminated with a 1984 one-man exhibit of the collection at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. With it, he became the first living artist and Arab to be honored with a one-man show of his work at the Smithsonian. The exhibit subsequently went on a tour of several other U.S. museums.

In 1991, in addition to numerous other international citations and honors, the government of France further recognized his artistic achievements by awarding him the highly regarded distinction of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.

During the last ten years of his life, his spiritual drive and classical artistic talent, coupled with the extraordinary participation of his wife, Widad Marachi—and the earnest encouragements of numerous friends, scholars, and dignitaries throughout the world—inspired him to travel from Spain to China to identify and document the most significant historic mosques of the world.

Despite a four-year battle with cancer, he was able to produce in record time a body of work that features over forty historic mosques. The collection known as The Spiritual Edifices of Islam, was completed with the assistance of his son Mokhless Al-Hariri, and embodies the final evolution of his distinctive classical yet contemporary style.

Wahbi Al-Hariri died on August 16, 1994, in Aleppo, Syria, the birthplace he had not visited for almost twenty years. Until the end he overtly maintained an optimistic view of his condition and remained driven and inspired by an unyielding thirst for knowledge and constant search for beauty.

Following his death at the age of 80, a large number of his early oil paintings, watercolors, and photographs—some dating back to 1933—were found after having been saved from his initial studio fire. Several pieces underwent extensive restoration and some became part of the traveling exhibit entitled The Spiritual Edifices of Islam.

The Spiritual Edifices of Islam Traveling Exhibit: Also known in Arabic as the Buyut Allah exhibit, the show made its 1999 world debut at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. In 2002-2003 it was also shown at other world-class venues such as the National Gallery of Fine Arts in Amman (Jordan), the National Museum in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), the Beit al-Quran Museum in Manama (Bahrain), and the Islamic Arts Museum in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) where in response to the public’s interest the show was extended from one to four months.

The The Spiritual Edifices of Islam traveling exhibit includes two collections: The Historic Mosques collection and the Retrospective Collection.

Historic Mosques Collection: This group of artwork forms the core of the exhibit and consists of 33 large original graphite drawings, featuring from Spain to China, with great artistic sensitivity, some of the world’s most significant historical mosques. The collection embodies the final evolution of the artist’s distinctive classical style and represents the crowning achievement of his artistic career.

Artist Retrospective: This part of the traveling exhibit includes a collection of 30 original oil, watercolor, and graphite pieces that form a broad retrospective of the artist’s work. The collection spans a sixty-year period (1930s–1990s) and includes a special selection of works that Wahbi Al-Hariri completed in Canada, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the UAE, and the United States.

Books by Wahbi Al-Hariri-Rifai: Traditional Architecture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (add details)

Asir Heritage and Civilization (add details)

The Heritage of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (add details)