The Arab-American artist Wahbi Al-Hariri-Rifai (1914-1994) has frequently been called "the last of the classicists." Born in the historic city of Aleppo, Syria, to a family that traces its roots back fourteen centuries, Al-Hariri displayed exceptional artistic talent as a child.

He was the first Middle Easterner to graduate in 1937 from the prestigious Accademia Reale di Belle Arti in Rome. He also graduated with honors from the famous Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts in Paris in 1954.

In 1984 following the publication of an art collector folio of his work he became the first living artist and the first Arab-American to be honored with a solo exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Wahbi Al-Hariri’s artistic drive brought him to work on four continents. During the last fifteen years of his life he divided his residency between Washington, D.C. and Riyadh.  Today, his widely exhibited work is held in private and public collections around the world.