T 71
G Ü Z î II
D U R A K
Glizin Duran (1898- 1981)
Born in Süleymaniye in the home of her
grandfather, the famous calligrapher
Yahya Hilmi Efendi, Güzin Duran grew up in an aristocratic circle engaged in calligraphy, music and the decorative arts from which her early interest in music and painting surely derived. In the middle of the First World War, Güzin entered the School of Fine Arts, just opened to girls for the first time. Studying initially with the noted woman painter Mihri Hamm, she later took lessons from Ömer Adil Bey. A successful student, she won the European competi tion while under the tutelage of the poet Ahmet Haşim in aesthetics and Ibrahim Feynhaman in pastels. In September 1922, she married her 'young teacher, Feynhaman, and continued her education in Istanbul where the two artists made their lifelong home.
Since the couple had no children, they lavished all their love on the arts and spent their summers painting industri ously at their lovely summer house on the slopes of Çataldağ, far from the stress and strain of city life.
With Prof. Feynhaman’s death in 1970, this domestic idyll was abruptly cut short, and Güzin withdrew to a modest house with garden in a remote district of Istanbul. With her immortal memories and passion for art, she lived there until her death.
Now this house, with its modern ateliers entered through the garden, has been donated to Istanbul University together with the priceless art treasures it con tains.
From her years as a painting teacher until her dying day, Güzin Duran never stopped painting. She also collected valuable specimens of calligraphy, need lework, ornaments and porcelain. In her exhibition of 1937 she emphasized the Karagöz theme, reflecting all the diverse aspects of the oldest Turkish shadow puppetteers. Plumbing the depths of Turkish folklore, she attained her first fame with this exhibition which won her ttje admiration of foreigners especially. Views of the Bosphorus constitute yet another part of the work of this versa tile, cultured Turkish lady, whom we remember with respect and veneration.
Kişisel Arşivlerde İstanbul Belleği Taha Toros Arşivi
