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Fred Parhad 1947- An Assyrian Sculptor

Fred Parhad was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1947. His mother, Bella Toma was born in Iran, His father, Dr. Luther Parhad, was born in Iraq where his grandfather Dr. Baba Parhad had taken the family after the massacres in Northern Iran at the close of World War I. His early years were spent in Iraq, Iran and Kuwait where his father served as the national Director of Health.

His interest in sculpture began early and continued through college, though he did not make it a career choice until 1976 when he moved to New York City. During a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art he first saw original Assyrian and Babylonian art. Realizing their origins he found himself increasingly attracted to these artifacts.

Over the next four years he reproduced several Assyrian pieces of art ranging from glazed ceramics of the Ishtar Gate to bronze and antiqued stone sculpture. These were displayed at Assyrian Conventions in Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles. Some of the pieces went on sale at the Oriental Art Institute in Chicago and the Museum of Natural History in New York. He has also had sculpture on display at Harcourts Gallery in San Francisco.

In may of 1988, a fifteen foot tall bronze statue of Ashurbanipal, King of Assyrian 669-627 B.C. Was erected in from of San Francisco's Civic Center, a gift to the people of the Unites States of America from the Assyrian community worldwide.

The Assyrian Foundation For The Arts (A.F.A) was established in 1984 as a non-profit foundation for the purpose of promoting a public awareness of the presence of the Assyrian people and their contribution to history. The bronze monument of the Assyrian King Ashur Banipal was the first contribution by the Assyrian community and A.F.A.

Queen Shamiram(Samuramat) or Semiramis in Greek ruled the Assyrian Empire for a perior of 5 years from B.C. 810 to B.C. 805. A bronze monument of Queen Shamiram, standing 8 feet tall on top of a 5 foot pedastal was erected in Chicago in 1998.