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WINTER
2012
29
have any operations scheduled and was
in his clinic. He looked closely at the
man standing at his doorstep. A hat hid
most of his face but Saleeby could still
clearly see his features. “I am one of those
who killed Khalil Saleeby,” the man said
slowly. “We didn’t realize what a loss he
was. We didn’t know. I am here to ask for
your forgiveness.”
Samir Saleeby was stupefied. He had
grown up hearing about his famous artist
cousin. His father, Shaheen, was especially
affected by the death of Khalil. Soon after
the artists’ death, he painstakingly bought
all of the paintings that he could find.
“We need to keep his work together,” he
would tell his son.
So it was that Samir Saleeby grew up
around the paintings. “I would stare at
them for hours,” he said. “I knew and
loved each and every one.”
As the years passed, the lives of the two
men – Khalil and Samir - somehow inter-
weaved. For during his years studying in
Paris, Samir met a successful Lebanese
painter by the name of César Gemayel
who promptly took Samir under his
wings.The reason was that the painter
was a former student of Khalil Saleeby’s.
And here the story unfolds: Gemayel was
working at a pharmacy located in Mar-
tyr’s Square. As Khalil was in the phar-
macy one day, he noticed the young boy
drawing on a table nearby.The drawings,
he noted, were superb from one so young.
Then and there he took César under his
tutelage. (Gemayel went on to become
one of the leading and pioneering paint-
ers and the co-founder of the Lebanese
Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA).)
As Samir began to know his cousin bet-
ter, the paintings – now bequeathed to
him upon his father’s death – took on
more meaning. He himself began to seek
out more of Khalil’s paintings. During
the civil war, he sent the collection for
safekeeping to London but brought them
back soon after the war ended.
Soon enough, he began to receive offers
for his now priceless collection.The first
was in 1982 from a Japanese company.
Would he accept $33 million dollars for
the collection? Saleeby refused. “I don’t
want the money,” he responded. “This is
Lebanese heritage. I will give it to you for
free if you agree to build a museum for
them in Beirut.”
The offers kept coming. Saleeby kept
making the same request.
By now, the value of the collection had
become worth millions.
In 1990, AUB contacted him. “Build a
museum which is accessible to the public
and I will give them to you,” said Saleeby.
It was easier said than done. But a few
years later, a deal was reached: AUB will
turn an entire floor in Post Hall into an
art museum. Meanwhile, the paintings
will be housed in the Mayfair residence
with – as per Saleeby’s request - free ac-
cess to the public.
In June 2012,The Rose and Shaheen
Saleeby Museum opened its doors to dis-
play over 60 of Khalil Saleeby’s paintings
and several other known artists.
“I want to leave something behind,” said
Saleeby. “This is my legacy to Lebanon.
Money? What do I need it for? I have
everything I need. My children have all
they need. A museum for my collection
is all I ever wanted.This is my gift to the
Lebanese people.”
The Khalil Saleeby exhibition is currently on
display at the Mayfair Residence on Sidani
Street.