8 - ‡ ADHAM WANLY (EGYPTIAN 1908-1959)

‡ ADHAM WANLY (EGYPTIAN 1908-1959) PORTRAIT OF BAIRAM EL TOUNSY signed Wanly lower left oil on paper 50 x 37cm (71 x 57cm framed) Adham Wanly and Bairam El-Tounsi were deeply connected through 20th century Alexandria's cosmopolitan, revolutionary streets. Despite very different social backgrounds, they shared a devotion to Egyptian national identity and the city's thriving performing arts scene. Both were shaped by Alexandria, but from opposite ends of society. Wanly, the aristocrat, was born into a wealthy family of Turkish and Caucasian elite lineage in upscale Muharram Bey, surrounded by luxury, classical art, and European influences. El-Tounsi, the working-class hero, came from a modest family of Tunisian roots in working-class Al-Anfoushi; he worked in a grocery store and learned poetry from the zajal (colloquial Arabic poetry) heard in the city's cafes. Print media and caricature formed a direct professional bridge between them. El-Tounsi, a master of political satire, launched sharp-witted magazines like Al-Masalla and El-Khazouq mocking the ruling elite and British occupation. Wanly, also a gifted, sought-after caricaturist, contributed regularly to major periodicals, notably Rose El-Youssef, which often celebrated nationalist poets like El-Tounsi. Their greatest creative overlap was a fixation on the stage. El-Tounsi pioneered Arabic lyrical theatre, working closely with Sayed Darwish and writing iconic musical plays, radio series, and songs, including legendary tracks for Umm Kulthum. Wanly and his brother Seif spent decades documenting rehearsals, productions, and characters at the Theatre Mohamed Ali and the Opera. Wanly's iconic portrait of El-Tounsi was more than a painting of a famous writer; it was an intimate tribute to a fellow Alexandrian who gave voice to the streets, theatres, and cafes Wanly painted daily. The Wanly brothers' studio in Alexandria and Cairo (see lots 1-3 for works by Seif Wanly) served as an open salon for leading intellectuals, where intellectuals, writers, poets, and artists. Both men belonged to the same mid-century Egyptian cultural renaissance celebrating folkloric and theatrical life, cementing their legacy alongside figures like Bayram al-Tunisi pioneered colloquial poetry and lyrical theatre.