Tributes paid to Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour, who has died aged 79

Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour has died aged 79 after a long illness, his family announced on Monday.

“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,” his family said in a statement. “But to us, we lost a father, our source of love, strength and home.”

Mansour was born in 1947 in Birzeit, Palestine, months before the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Despite being jailed twice for his artwork, he remained steadfast in affirming Palestinian human rights.

His paintings use symbols derived from Palestinian life, culture, history and tradition. He worked from his studio in Ramallah, West Bank, chronicling life before the Israeli occupation and war.

Among the tributes to Mansour is the Embassy of the State of Palestine in Ireland.

“Palestine has lost one of its profound and influential artists, Mr. Sliman Mansour,” wrote the embassy on social media.

“Mr. Mansour was a leader in the Palestinian arts movement, and was known for using his artworks to depict both the Palestinian struggle and the resilience of the Palestinian people.”

Tributes from artists and curators have also poured in, including from Zawyeh Gallery in Dubai who most recently presented Mansour’s work at Abu Dhabi Art in November 2025.

“His work became an essential part of Palestinian visual memory, giving enduring form to the relationship between the Palestinian people and their homeland,” the gallery’s statement said.

Another curator, Malu Halasa, who included two of Mansour’s works in the 2025 London exhibition Art of the Palestinian Poster, also paid tribute, describing him as a “pillar of Palestinian modern art.”

Mansour’s works are held in museums and private collections worldwide. He has received awards such as the Palestine Prize for the Visual Arts, the Grand Nile Prize at the Seventh Cairo Biennial and, in 2019, he was awarded the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture.