REPORT: Works of late Lebanese caricaturist Pierre Sadek put on display

An exhibition displaying hundreds of works by late Lebanese caricaturist Pierre Sadek opened in Beirut on Wednesday.

Sadek's long career spanned tumultuous times in Lebanese politics including a 15-year civil war.

Sadek's career in caricature started in the late 1950s and ended only when he died in 2013, at the age of 75.

He was the first cartoonist in Lebanon whose work was featured on television at the end of the nightly newscast, in 1986.

The late caricaturist left behind 30,000 works in drawings, newspapers, book covers, and paintings, according to his daughter Ghada Sadek Abella.

“Because of him, caricature was moved to the front page of daily political news, after it had been in the back page. People used to follow the caricature of Pierre Sadek to know what happened in the country. Any caricature was a summary of what was going on in the country,” Abella said.

Among those who attended the exhibition was Wadih Elias who said Sadek was one of the people who documented Lebanon's history.

“Such people are a legacy for Lebanon, one learns a lot from them. I am coming today to see a lot of things that I did not see (before), that I just passed by without noticing,” Elias said.

Sadek's work was published in Lebanese and Arabic newspapers including An-Nahar, Al-Anwar and Al-Jumhuriya, as well as international outlets such as Time Magazine, France Soir and The Washington Post.

The exhibition titled 'Pierre Sadek Picturing History', has been organized by Sursock Museum and the Pierre Sadek Foundation. It runs until April 30.