Ahmed Morsi

Ahmed Morsi as a child in the 1930s

Morsi was born in the coastal city Alexandria, Egypt, in 1930.[4][1][5][6][7] In 1954, he graduated from the University of Alexandria,[5] Faculty of Arts with a major in English Literature. During the years 1952-53, he studied art with Silvio Becchi, son of Italian master Otorino Becchi, in Alexandria. Early on, Ahmed Morsi was initiated into Alexandria's literary society as well as the city's very own rising group of artists. By his early twenties, he was participating in group shows with Egypt's most notable modern artists, including A Al Gazzar, H El Telmisani, I Massouda, F Kamel, H Nada and M Moussa. In 1949, he started writing poetry and developed this talent in parallel with his painting – publishing his first Diwan, “Songs of the Temples / Steps in Darkness” at the age of 19.[2]

Morsi moved to Baghdad, Iraq in 1955, where he taught English to supplement his two-year stay. This was a time of a cultural renaissance in Iraq, when Baghdad was a center for the literati, the artists and the intellectuals. It was in Baghdad that he developed a friendship and a working relationship with several Iraqi writers and painters, among them Abd al-Wahhab al-Bayati, Fouad al-Tikerly and Ardash Kakavian; and these relationships continued to produce noteworthy creative cooperation as well as lifelong friendships throughout the coming decades.[2]

Returning to Egypt, he moved to Cairo in 1957. In these years, Ahmed Morsi was the first Egyptian to work alongside Egypt's acclaimed playwrights, Alfred Farag, Abdel Rahman Al Sharkawi, designing stage sets and costumes for The National Theater at the original, Khedieval, Cairo Opera House – art forms that had until then previously been relegated only to Italian designers. He also partnered with Abdel Hadi Al Algazzar and co-designed stage sets for "Bury the Dead" by American playwright Irwin Shaw at the Cairo Opera House. Other projects with Al Gazzar included a book of Morsi's poetry alongside Al Gazzar's drawings. The book was never published due to Al Gazzar's untimely passing, however the poetry/drawings live on. In 1968, he co-founded the avant-garde magazine Galerie 68 with Edwar Al Kharrat, Ibrahim Mansour, Gamil Atteya, Sayed Hegab and others.[8] This publication immediately became Egypt's most reputable source as the voice of the new modernism. With these years began the Artist's journey into the world of criticism, publishing critiques on both art and literature, both of which remaining intimate domains. He wrote two items for Grand Larousse Encyclopédique (1975); “Art in Egypt” and “Art in Iraq”. Again the pioneer, Ahmed Morsi introduced a new creative vehicle to the art public in Egypt with his 1995 show: “The Artist’s Book”. Following his exhibition, a new Biennial, The Artist's Book, was created in Alexandria.[2]

In 1974, Ahmed Morsi moved to New York City, where he continues to paint, write and critique from his Manhattan home.[9][10] In 1976, like many artists residing in the NYC area, he took up the art of lithography at The New School, the art of printmaking at The Art Student League and added yet another dimension to his creative tools and in the last 20 years, the Artist embraced photography – the last art form to be included in Ahmed Morsi's extensive palette.[2]

• Egyptian Museum of Modern Art - Cairo, Egypt
• Museum of Fine Arts - Alexandria, Egypt
• Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art - Doha, Qatar
• Sharjah Art Foundation - Sharjah, UAE
• Barjeel Art Foundation - Dubai, UAE

Private collections in Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, France, UK and USA

• 1956 - 57: Began writing art criticism for Iraqi Newspaper, "Al Akhbar", Al Akhbar - Baghdad
• 1958 - 1962: First non-foreigner to design sets and costumes for the Egyptian National Theater - Cairo
• Designed stage sets and costumes for the first play written by Alfred Farag, “The Fall of the Pharaoh”
• Co-designed with Abdel Hadi Al Gazzar settings for the American play “Bury the Dead” by Irwin Shaw
• Designed stage sets for the first play written by Abdel Rahman Al Sharkawi, “The Tragedy of Jamila Bohreid”
• 1968: Co-founded “Gallery ‘68” magazine - Cairo
• 1995: Introduced to the art public in Egypt “The Artist’s Book”. Thanks to this pioneering effort, The Alexandria

Library established a Biennial solely for this new creative vehicle, “The Artist’s Book”

• 1949: Published his first collection of poems, “Songs of Temples / Steps in Darkness” - Alexandria
• 1957–1974: Covered the activities of art in Egypt for the 2nd Program Radio in Cairo and participated in the radio program “Culture News Around the World”
• 1959: Co-translated “Eluard: The Poet of Freedom and Love” with Iraqi Poet Abdel Wahab Al Bayyati, published by Al Maaret Bookshop - Beirut
• 1959: Co-translated “Aragon, : The Poet of Resistance” with Abdel Wahab Al Bayyati, published by Al Maaret Bookshop

- Beirut

• 1968: Decided to stop writing poetry out of a sense of estrangement
• 1968: Co-published the avant-garde magazine, “Galerie 68”, along with Edwar Al Kharrat, Ibrahim Mansour, Gamil

Atteya and Sayed Hegab – which played a pivotal role in developing the new-modernism of Arabic literature

• 1970:

- The Iraqi Ministry of Culture published his book, “Picasso”

- Translated “A View from a Bridge” by Arthur Miller, which translation and play was staged in the 1970s by The National Theater

• 1975: The Iraqi Ministry of Culture published his book, “Introduction to American Black Poetry”
• 1997: He reclaimed the poet who was exiled 30 years prior, without calculation
• 1999: The Supreme Council of Culture published his study, “Contemporary American Poetry I”
• 2001: The National Center for Translation published his book “Readings of Contemporary American Poetry II”

- The League of Books published his book, “Contemporary American Poetry III”

- The Supreme Council of Culture published his book, “American Contemporary Art”

• 2012: The Supreme Council of Culture published his Anthology, “The Collected Poems”

• Media related to Ahmed Morsi at Wikimedia Commons