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Palestinian Artist Sliman Mansour, Creator of Camel of Hardship, Dies
Sliman Mansour was a Palestinian artist who died at age 79.
He was born in 1947 near Ramallah.
For more than 50 years, he made paintings about Palestinian land, history and identity.
His most famous painting shows an old worker carrying Jerusalem on his back.
Many people saw the painting as showing how heavy history and love of homeland can feel.
Mansour also helped create an art group that used materials from the local land.
His art was connected to the idea of staying strong and holding on.
His death is seen as the loss of an important artist who helped shape how Palestinian identity is represented.
Sliman Mansour died on August 24, 2026, at age 79, his family announced through his official social media accounts.
Born in 1947 in Birzeit near Ramallah, Mansour spent more than five decades shaping contemporary Palestinian visual art.
His best-known painting, Jamal Al Mahamel, depicts an elderly porter carrying Jerusalem and became a symbol of history, loss and attachment to homeland.
Mansour co-founded the New Visions collective during the First Intifada, which used local materials such as mud and henna instead of Israeli art supplies.
His work was closely associated with sumud, or Palestinian steadfastness, while also portraying the strain and cost of endurance.
- Who
- Sliman Mansour, a leading Palestinian visual artist; his family announced his death.
- What
- Mansour died at age 79, leaving a five-decade artistic legacy centered on Palestinian land, identity and memory.
- Where
- He was born in Birzeit, near Ramallah; the articles do not state where he died.
- When
- August 24, 2026.
- Why
- His death marks the loss of an artist who helped shape the representation of Palestinian identity in modern visual culture; no cause of death was disclosed.
Key facts
- Age at death
- 79
- Date of death
- August 24, 2026
- Birth
- 1947, in Birzeit near Ramallah
- Best-known work
- Jamal Al Mahamel, also known as Camel of Hardship or Camel of Burdens
- Painting subject
- An elderly porter carrying Jerusalem on his back
- Art collective
- New Visions, co-founded during the First Intifada
- Artistic themes
- Palestinian land, history, identity, memory and sumud
Quotes
Sliman Mansour's family
Mansour's family, who announced his death through his official social media accounts
“The final chapter has been written. With hearts heavy beyond words, we share that our beloved father has passed away. To the world, he leaves behind a life filled with beauty, memory, and a legacy that will continue to live through all those he touched. But to us, we lost a father, our source of love, strength and home.”
livemint.com
Sources
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