Sliman Mansour, one of the leading figures in contemporary Palestinian art, died over the weekend aged 79.
In a post to Mansour's Instagram account, his family announced his death, writing: “The final chapter has been written. With hearts heavy beyond words, we share that our beloved father has passed away.
“To the world, he leaves behind a life filled with beauty, memory, and a legacy that will continue to live through all those he touched. But to us, we lost a father, our source of love, strength and home.”
Mansour was born in Birzeit, a Palestinian town north of Ramallah, in 1947, a year before the Nakba, which saw more than 700,000 Palestinians forcibly expelled from their homes to make way for the creation of Israel.
The artist took to drawing at a very young age, and later a German tutor at a boarding school in Bethlehem noticed his talent, encouraging the young Mansour to delve deeper into painting and entering his work into art contests.
