Sabiha Bozcalı

Biography

Sabiha Rüştü Bozcalı (1904 – 12 April 1998) was a visual artist and illustrator who was influential in shaping the visual culture in Turkey in the mid-to-late 20th century. She is considered as "Turkey's first woman illustrator." Bozcalı is known for her portraits, landscapes, still lifes, as well as her illustrations that circulated in advertising, publishing, and through major institutions such as banks and government departments. Her work gained more visibility after she worked as one of the main illustrators of İstanbul Ansiklopedisi, a major encyclopedic work on Istanbul culture, written by historian Reşad Ekrem Koçu. In 2015–16, Istanbul- and Ankara-based research institution SALT organized a major exhibition focusing on her practice. SALT currently holds her personal archive, which includes images of her sketches, portrait and landscape paintings, as well as her design work.