LOUAY KAYALI (Aleppo 1934 - 1978) Portrait of a woman, 1958 Oil on panel, 45 x 35 cm. Signature and date at lower left Inscription on a card: 'Louay Kayali P. B. 163 Damascus Syria', on the back PROVENANCE Private collection, Rome The proposed work is reminiscent of the painter's 1958 counterpart painting entitled 'Waiting for hope,' an oil on canvas measuring 60 x 90, where the same model appears seated in profile. On the back it has a cataloguing number with additional autograph signature of the painter affixed on an added sheet. It dates from the period when the artist, after passing a competition announced by the Ministry of Education, moved to Rome to study at the Academy of Fine Arts. And it was in Rome that he began participating in important fairs and competitions: in 1958 he won first prize in the Sicilia Contest sponsored by the Italian-Arab Relations Association in Rome. The successful year he obtained numerous awards including the Gold Medal for foreigners at the Ravenna contest. In the same year he held his first solo exhibition at Aedo Galvani's La Fontanella Gallery on Via del Babuino. While continuing academic studies he alternates between painting and decoration. He returned to Syria in 1961after graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. In Damascus he will also pursue a teaching career at the Faculty of Fine Arts.