Layla Al Attar was a renown Iraqi painter who used her work to foster change towards gender equality and the importance of women within all aspects of societies. Al Attar studied in the College of Fine Arts in Baghdad as one of the first female graduates. Al Attar’s work focus on themes of alienation and sorrow conveyed through imagery suggesting a representation of the Garden of Eden and realm of Gilgamesh. In 1985, Al Attar became the Director of the Iraqi National Art Museum. Unfortunately, Al Attar, her husband, and her house keeper died in 1993 after a missile assault was authorized on the main Iraqi Intelligence Headquarters, which was right behind Al Attar’s residence. Speculations still exist on whether the attack also served the purpose of intentionally harming Al Attar as she made political statements against President George H. W .Bush through her mosaic in the Al-Rashid Hotel in Baghdad. Layla Al Attar legacy of uplifting women prevails as her whimsical work is internationally renown and celebrated.

Work Below, Respectively: The Violin Player, oil canvas, 1989| In a Field of Emptiness,1979 | Playwrights Horizons| Moonlight, 1981