Artist

Feyhaman Duran

Born in Kadıköy, Istanbul, Feyhaman Duran took his first painting lessons from Şevket Dağ and Viçen Arslanyan while he was a student at the Imperial School (the Galatasaray High School). He was also trained in the art of calligraphy. He started his working life in 1908, first as a clerk at the Sublime Porte, then following his graduation, as a French calligraphy instructor at the Imperial School. He participated in the activities of the Society of Ottoman Painters from its establishment in 1909 onwards. He was sent to Paris in 1911, with the support of Khedive Abbas Halim Paşa. Entering the Académie Julian, he attended the studios of François Schommer and Jean-Paul Gervais in 1911, and the studios of Jean-Paul Laurens and Paul-Albert Laurens in 1912. He also simultaneously attended the École des Arts Décoratifs. In 1913, he qualified as an observer in Fernand Cormon’s studio at the École des Beaux-Arts. With the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, he returned to Istanbul. In 1918, eight of his works were shown in Vienna in the exhibition featuring paintings produced in the Şişli Studio, even though he had not taken part in the studio itself. He participated in the Galatasaray Exhibitions from 1916 onwards. In 1919, he was appointed as a studio instructor at the Academy of Fine Arts for Women. He continued in this role after this school merged with the Academy of Fine Arts in 1923, and until his retirement in 1951. He received the silver medal at the first Galatasaray Exhibition in 1916. Feyhaman Duran’s calligraphy collection, which remains intact, consists both of his own works, and of rare pieces by the last Ottoman calligraphers.