Karimeh Abbud

Karimeh Abbud or Karimeh Abboud (18 November 1893 – 27 April 1940;

She first began to take an interest in photography in 1913, after receiving a camera from her father as a gift for her 17th birthday. Her first photos were of family, friends and the landscape in Bethlehem and her first signed picture is dated October 1919.^[1]

While studying

In 1929, she married a merchant from Marjayoun with whom she had a son, Samir.^[4]

Photography career

She set up a home studio, earning money by taking photos of women and children, weddings and other ceremonies. She also took numerous photos of public spaces in Haifa, Nazareth, Bethlehem and Tiberias.^[1] By the 1930s she worked as a professional photographer in Nazareth. Her grandfather had been a senior pharmacist at the Nazareth English Hospital and her father had served there as a pastor. When local Nazareth photographer Fadil Saba moved to Haifa, Karimeh's studio work was in high demand for weddings and portraits in particular. The work she produced in this period was stamped in Arabic and English with the words: "Karimeh Abbud - Lady Photographer - كريمة عبود: مصورة شمس". In the mid-1930s, she began offering hand-painted copies of studio photographs.^[1] In 1924, she described herself as the "only national photographer."^[4]

Collection and exhibitions

Original copies of her extensive portfolio have been collected by Ahmed Mrowat, Director of the Nazareth Archives Project. In 2006, Bouky Boaz, an

• Khalil Raad

References