Lebanese modernist pioneer Alfred Basbous was born in 1924 in Rachana. He started off as a stone mason, mastering that craft before transitioning into sculpting as an art form. He was the recipient of a scholarship from the French government in 1960 and the student of renowned French sculptor René Collamarini at L'Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts of Paris. In 1961, 1966, 1974, Basbous’s works were included in the International Sculpture Exhibition at the Musée Rodin, in Paris. Alfred was deeply inspired by the great European artists such as Moore, Arp, Brancusi and Hepworth, yet always gave his sculptures his own unique and inimitable interpretation. His early work was preoccupied with the female form, but gradually became more fluid and abstract, responding to the nature of the diverse materials he used. After a sell-out first exhibition, Basbous rapidly gained recognition regionally and internationally – in France, Egypt, Japan, the UAE and beyond. A recipient of the The Order of the Knight, and the coveted National Medal of the Order of the Cedar for his contribution to the world of arts, Basbous also founded the International Sculpture Symposium in his native town of Rachana.

Alfred Basbous was a giant in the field of Arab sculpture, and his art is part of several international public and private collections all around the world.

The Alfred Basbous Foundation, who runs the artist’s estate, has recently published, with Skira, the book “Alfred Basbous: A modernist Pioneer”, in November 2022.