People
In the course of her research on Hassan Heshmat, Sonja Hegasy identified the following group of individuals. Many are connected to one another and collectively represent important social and institutional constituencies. The illustration has already revealed an interesting cluster that had previously gone unnoticed, namely Heshmat’s contacts to the Armenian community in Cairo. It also brings into clearer focus the role played by political sponsors, curators, and private collectors as well as the connections to Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. Hegasy has met and interviewed several of the individuals listed below.
- Dr. Abe Jan Koldijk
Cairo International Crossroads
Dr. Abe Jan Koldijk (1921-2015), a medical doctor and his wife Therese Meigen, met Heshmat through the daughter of a patient, Vicky [Braet/Praet?] who worked at the Belgian embassy in Cairo and was married to… Read more about Dr. Abe Jan Koldijk
- Anatolij A. Bogdanov
Researchers/Authors
Anatolij A. Bogdanov, author, interviews Heshmat in his home for his book ‘Among the artists of the Land of the Nile’, Leningrad 1964.
- Emad Abu Ghazi
Teachers and Political Sponsors
Emad Abu Ghazi (b. 1955) is a historian and professor emeritus of archival studies at Cairo University. Abu Ghazi comes from a family of artists on both his father’s and mother’s sides. After the uprising… Read more about Emad Abu Ghazi
- Eugen Auer
Cairo International Crossroads
Eugen Auer, General Manager of the Heliopolis Sheraton from 1985 to 1987, first met Hassan Heshmat at one of the monthly dinner parties organized by the Chaine des Rotisseurs and held at the hotel. On the… Read more about Eugen Auer
- Farid Khamis
Collectors and Benefactors
Farid Khamis, Founder and CEO of Oriental Weavers. He bought statues that were several meters tall and erected them on the factory’s ground in 10th of Ramadan city.
- Farida Fahmy
Contemporaries and Peers
Farida Fahmy (b. 1940), actress, dancer and co-founder (along with Mahmoud Reda) of the Reda Dance Troupe, a group that adapted Egyptian folk dances to modern dance. Heshmat attended their performances, met… Read more about Farida Fahmy
- Fatenn Kanafani
Art Historians and Gallerists
Fatenn Kanafani, Art historian and director of ArtTalks gallery in Cairo, Egypt.
- Fathy Mahmud
Contemporaries and Peers
Fathy Mahmud (1918–1982) was an Egyptian sculptor and ceramicist following in the footsteps of Mahmoud Mokhtar. He completed his studies in sculpture at the Faculty of Applied Arts in 1938 and later moved to… Read more about Fathy Mahmud
- Frieda and Adolf Haude
The Selb Connection
Frieda and Adolf Haude were the landlords of Hassan Heshmat and his wife Zeinab (Zuzu) in Ahornweg 6 during the academic year 1957–58, while Heshmat was studying at the Technical School of Porcelain. They lived… Read more about Frieda and Adolf Haude
- Gamal as-Sigini
Contemporaries and Peers
Gamal as-Sigini (1917–1977) designed the distinctive gold medal of Egypt’s State Prize of Merit, probably in connection with the establishment of the award in 1958. As-Sigini was one of Egypt’s leading… Read more about Gamal as-Sigini
- George Mikaelian
Heshmat and the Armenian-Egyptian (art) community in Cairo
George Mikaelian (1914–1986) was a bookseller and art patron in Cairo who supported young Egyptian-Armenian artists, like Shant Avetisyan, but we also know that he bought works by the young Hassan Heshmat.
- Georges Bahgory
Contemporaries and Peers
Georges Bahgory (b. 1932) is an Egyptian-French painter and sculptor. Bahgory, who today lives in Paris, studied painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Zamalek with Hussein Bicar. He worked for Sabah Al Khair… Read more about Georges Bahgory
- Gertraud Steppat / Prof. Fritz Steppat
Cairo International Crossroads
Gertraud Steppat und Prof. Fritz Steppat lived in Cairo from 1955 till 1959. Fritz Steppat had been tasked with organizing the German language instruction in Cairo and establishing the Goethe-Institut there… Read more about Gertraud Steppat / Prof. Fritz Steppat
- Hussein Bicar
Contemporaries and Peers
Hussein Bicar (1913–2002) graduated in 1933 from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo. In 1944, at the time of the establishment of Akhbar El-Youm, Bicar joined the newspaper as an illustrator and subsequently… Read more about Hussein Bicar
- Jeffrey Adams / Samir Moussa
Collectors and Benefactors
In September 2026, Jeffrey Adams, Napa, California, got in touch with Sonja Hegasy on behalf of 86-year-old Samir Moussa. Moussa was introduced to Heshmat in the mid-1960s and loved his art. He visited and… Read more about Jeffrey Adams / Samir Moussa
- Kamal es-Sarrag
Contemporaries and Peers
Kamal es-Sarrag (1934-2012) was a painter and professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo, and as of 1986 Dean of the Faculty President of Helwan University. He is particularly known for his abstract… Read more about Kamal es-Sarrag
- Katharina M. Raab
Art Historians and Gallerists
Katharina M. Raab (Berlin) curated the exhibition “Hassan Heshmat: Künstler aus dem Volk zwischen kulturellem Erbe und Erneuerung” together with Sonja Hegasy in cooperation with the Diwan – Das Arabische… Read more about Katharina M. Raab
- Leo Pöpperl
The Selb Connection
Leo Pöpperl worked for the Netzsch company. Netzsch was and remains a manufacturer of machinery and plant, whose technology has been widely used in the ceramics industry, for example for grinding, mixing… Read more about Leo Pöpperl
- Louis Bishara
Collectors and Benefactors
Louis Bishara, Founder and CEO of the Egyptian fashion brand B.T.M. He also erected several statues on the premises of his factory 10th of Ramadan city and initiated an open-air museum with 12 sculptures and a… Read more about Louis Bishara
- Mamdouh Ammar
Contemporaries and Peers
Mamdouh Ammar (1928–2012) graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo in 1952 and studied for over ten years in Luxor, Beijing, Paris and Rome. His motives repeatedly focused on ordinary Egyptian people… Read more about Mamdouh Ammar
- Marie L. Bishara
Collectors and Benefactors
Marie L. Bishara, CEO of B.T.M. and daughter of Louis Bishara, is continuing her father’s philanthropic work. His private collection is with her today. She persuaded her father to do an internship with Hassan… Read more about Marie L. Bishara
- Mounir Kanaan
Contemporaries and Peers
Like Mahmud Mokhtar, Mounir Kanaan (1919–1999) had no formal art-school degree. He began working as a teenager in commercial sign-making and later for the press. From 1945 he was at Dar Al-Hilal and… Read more about Mounir Kanaan
- Nadine Nour el Din
Art Historians and Gallerists
Nadine Nour el Din is a writer, art historian and curator whose work focuses on the arts and cultural production of the Arab world and wider region.
- Ronald Pritchard
Cairo International Crossroads
Ronald Pritchard, Luxembourg, the son of a Welsh horticultural engineer Ronald Pritchard MBE (1925–2011). His mother, Germaine Pritchard, née Barbaut (1928–2023), was French. The father worked for the… Read more about Ronald Pritchard
- Sabry Ragheb
Contemporaries and Peers
Sabry Ragheb (1920-2000) was a painter who graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts 1952. Like Heshmat, Ragheb was at the time supported by the Ministry of Culture with a scholarship to fully concentrate on his… Read more about Sabry Ragheb
- Saeed Sadr
Teachers and Political Sponsors
Saeed Sadr (1909-1986) was a plastic artist, born in the Gabaliyya district of Cairo to a family from the Palestinian city of Tulkarem. In 1928, he received a diploma in “Decoration and Woodcarving” from the… Read more about Saeed Sadr
- Samia Yateem
Art Historians and Gallerists
Samia Yateem, owner of al Dukkan Gallery, Manama, Bahrain.
- Shant (Chant) Avetisyan
Heshmat and the Armenian-Egyptian (art) community in Cairo · Contemporaries and Peers
Shant (Chant) Avetisyan, Egyptian-Armenian artist (1951 – 2018). From 1970 to 1978, he studied in Montreal and Paris. He then returned to Cairo. In the 1970s, for example, he designed costumes for the Armenian… Read more about Shant (Chant) Avetisyan
- Tharwat Okasha
Teachers and Political Sponsors
Tharwat Okasha (1921–2012) served as Egypt’s Minister of Culture from 1958 to 1962 and again from 1966 to 1970. He supported Heshmat in securing an estate in Ain Shams, which provided him with a place to live… Read more about Tharwat Okasha
- Yousr Fareed
Art Historians and Gallerists
Yousr Fareed, collaborator at al Dukkan Gallery, Manama, Bahrain.
- Youssef Francis
Contemporaries and Peers
Youssef Francis (1934–2001) was the youngest of the four Egyptian artists who were sent together to the 5th World Festival of Youth and Students in Warsaw.