Serge Shart

Born into an Armenian family, Serge Shart (1927 - 2011) was a prize-winning post-war and contemporary Lebanese artist who enjoyed a lengthy, successful career. His talent was already evident in childhood, when he was studying with the Jesuit Fathers, and led to him taking up an apprenticeship in 1943 as a draughtsman in the Service Géographique du Levant (FFL).

Four years later, he left Beirut and moved to France, where he enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux Art in Paris. However, he made the decision to leave after just two weeks, preferring the city’s open studios as a source of inspiration. Another influence was the French-Armenian artist and illustrator Jean Carzou, whom he met in Paris. Shart then spent time travelling across Europe, taking in the works displayed in the museums of Italy, France and Holland, having developed a passion for surrealist and abstract art. 

Shart’s art encompasses a wide range of subjects, from still lifes and portraits to beach and rural scenes. Often offering a rich cultural narrative, his paintings encapsulate moments in time in brilliant colour and detail, with even his smaller works displaying a hallmark breadth and fullness.

His figurative work captures the seemingly fleeting emotions etched on the faces of his subjects at key moments in time, from pensive-looking children to jovial carnival participants, while other paintings crystallise nostalgic scenes from everyday life, such as foraging in the countryside, picnicking families or musicians with their instruments.

Shart’s first exhibition took place in Beirut in 1950 and marked the beginning of a lengthy career, during which he travelled extensively, with France often serving as a base. Crossing continents, he visited museums and artists at work in a long list of cities. 

Shart was awarded the Uppsala Prize in 1952 and took part in the ‘Salon des Indépendants’ in 1955. Today, his paintings remain highly sought after and routinely feature in exhibitions worldwide, especially in high-profile collectives in Lebanon, France and Armenia, including Artscoops’ ‘Back to our Roots’ show in 2022. They can be found in prestigious institutions around the world and in many private collections throughout the United States, Europe and the Middle East.