The Rise of the Sursock Museum
The Power of the Image to Create an Image of Power
abstract
The Sursock Museum is a cultural institution that has played a significant role in shaping the art scene in Beirut, Lebanon, and the wider region, since its establishment in the 1950s-60s. This paper examines how the Museum employed the rhetoric of images on multiple levels, including that of its donor, the architecture, as well as the art to consolidate its power in the second half of the twentieth century. As such, the Sursock Museumʼs policies helped construct its public image as a place of cultural and social significance, while also reflecting broader power structures and hierarchies in Lebanese society.
Keywords: Sursock Museum • Modern art history • Beirut • Salon dʼAutomne • Modern Art History • Lebanon • Salon d'Automne • Nicolas Ibrahim Sursock