Michel Basbous

Born in the village of Rachana, Lebanon, in 1921 Michel Basbous was a draughtsman and sculptor. He studied sculpture at L’Academie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts from 1945 to 1949 and then received a scholarship from the Lebanese government to further his studies at L’École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He returned to Paris in 1954 to train in the studio of Ossip Zadkine (1890-1967). In 1957, he was made professor of sculpture at the American University of Beirut. He moved back to his native village the following year where he founded an open-air sculpture park outside his studio, turning Rachana into a centre of artistic life. In 1968, he was awarded the first prize at Sursock Museum. Michel Basbous died in Rachana in 1981. His work features in the collections of the British Museum, London and The Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah. The Basbous museum was established in his honor.