Margo Veillon ― Painting Egypt

Margo Veillon, one of Egypt’s best loved artists, here presents a sampling of her work from throughout her career, as represented in a legacy bequeathed to the American University in Cairo. The collection includes work from across the decades of her career as well as across a variety of media. Although Margo has lived part of her life in Europe, it is clearly Egypt that has held her imagination in all these long years of artistic innovation. One strand of her work is characterized by an ability to capture and depict the energy of a specific moment in time, be it a toss of wheat in the air to separate the chaff, the stoic bride in a wedding procession, or a horse dancing in a tent at a mulid. The stones, sands, and constantly changing light of the desert have been the inspiration for many years for another major line of artistic expression. And a third strand has been her exploration of all that can be seen, not seen, and sensed in one place, in her remarkable series of Global Perspectives. These threads and others no less individual and innovative make up the extraordinarily rich tapestry of Margo Veillon’s artistic career, as brought together in the AUC Permanent Collection.

MARGO VEILLON was born in Cairo in 1907, the daughter of a Swiss businessman and his Austrian wife. She has spent much of her artistic career capturing the verve and movement of daily life in Egypt. She now spends her time between her homes in Cairo and Switzerland. Margo Veillon: The Bursting Movement, Margo Veillon: Egyptian Harvests, and Margo Veillon: Egyptian Festivals were published by AUC Press in 1996, 2000, and 2002.Bruno Ronfard lives in Cairo and has been working regularly with Margo Veillon on her collection since 1997.