Wahbi AlHariri-AlRifai was born in Aleppo in 1914 and died there in 1994. He first studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma (Academy of Fine Arts in Rome), graduating in 1937 having specialized in painting.01 Upon returning to Aleppo, he taught fine arts at Al-Ma’moun High School and established an art institute for the youth. In this institute, he supervised and taught some of the pioneers of the Syrian Modern Art movement, such as Talib AlYazigi, Fathi Qabawa, Fateh Almudares, and Louai Kayali, and in that, he contributed to the establishment of  artistic bases in Syria.02 He also studied Architecture at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Additionally, he studied archeology at L’ecole de Louvre.03 He supervised the restoration of many heritage sites around Syria, such as ‘Tel Mari’ and ‘Ras Shamra’ in 1946, and he later accompanied the committee assigned to the restoration of The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.04 In the early sixties, he moved to Saudi Arabia due to his interest in Islamic art. He later published several books on the topic: “The Heritage of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”, and “Asir: Heritage and Civilization”. In his later years, he commenced work on “Spiritual Edifices of Islam” a book that depicts images of mosques around the Islamic world. Unfortunately, he would not be able to finish the project because of his ailing health, and although 100 drawings were completed, the book was never published. The executed drawings were kept and exhibited in the National Museum of King Abdelaziz in Riyadh. Throughout his life, Al-Hariri’s work was displayed in many exhibitions worldwide, and in 1992 the French government awarded him a Chevalier (knight) medallion in the ‘Ordre des Arts et des Lettres’.