NAM.1993-10-256-9

Ferdinand de Lesseps statue. Port Said. From Chareh Sultan, Hessein. Aug 10th ‘53. Indian ink and watercolour by Ralph Lillford, 1953. Policemen and figures on the promenade. From a collection of 60 drawings in various media, all related to the artist’s period of National Service in the Suez Canal Zone. Vicomte Ferdinand de Lesseps was a French diplomat and the driving force behind the development of the Suez Canal in Egypt, linking the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. The statue, sculpted by Emmanuel Frémiet, was erected at the entrance of the canal at Port Said in 1899. Only the base remains in situ as the statue was blown up in reaction to the French involvement in the Suez Crisis in 1956. The statue was however restored and relocated to the shipyard in Port Fouad.

Egypt (1945-1956)