NIZAR JAWDAT

NIZAR ALLI JAWDAT (Age 96)  
Former co-owner of St. Luke's Gallery for old master art in Washington, DC, died Thursday, January 19, 2017 at a Washington DC retirement home. Mr. Jawdat was born in Damascus, Syria, to Ali Jawdat al-Ayoubi, then governor of Aleppo and a leader of the Arab revolt for freedom from the Ottoman Empire and later from British and French colonialism; and his mother, Nazik Tahseen of Aleppo, from a princely Circassian family forced into exile by persecution in the Russian-occupied Caucasus region in the late 19th Century. Mr. Jawdat grew up in Iraq, where his father was personal advisor to King Faisal I and one of the founders and leaders of modern Iraq under the Hashemite monarchy. Mr. Jawdat studied at Victoria College in Alexandria, Egypt, then at Westminster School in London. His studies at Cambridge University were interrupted by WWII when all foreign students were required to leave England, at which time he continued his studies at the American University of Beirut. After his father was appointed the first Iraqi ambassador to the United States in 1942, Mr. Jawdat enrolled in Harvard School of Architecture where he met his future wife and fellow graduate student, Ellen Stone Coan. After returning to Iraq with his wife in 1947, Mr. Jawdat practiced architecture and formed one of the first air conditioning companies in the Middle East, which built the air conditioning system for the Iraqi Houses of Parliament. Twice exiled from Iraq, in 1958 following the coup that overthrew the Iraqi monarchy, and in 1968, after the coup that brought the Baath party to power. Mr. Jawdat moved his family to Italy, where he resumed his architectural career with fellow Harvard architects. He later moved to London and formed several successful companies dealing in international trade. In 1985, Mr. and Mrs. Jawdat moved to Washington, DC and together established St. Luke's Gallery near Dupont Circle as the city's pre-eminent gallery for old master art. Mr. Jawdat is survived by his wife of 72 years, Ellen; their four sons, Kumait, Zaidun, Rakan and Hammad and their spouses; and eight grandchildren, all of whom he adored. **SERVICE STATEMENT**