Mohamad J. Alaasam, Caricature Artist, 51

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Mohamad J. Alaasam, a well-known caricature and portrait artist whose
easel at the Crystal City (Arlington, Virginia) underground mall drew
models, military personnel and maintenance workers, died September 10,
2006, of a brain tumor at his sister's home in Glenfield, New Zealand,
near Auckland, New Zealand, at the age of 51.

For almost 20 years, Mr. Alaasam drew images of thousands of people in
the Washington DC area, finding the subject's character with a
realistic portrait of the face, then sketching a lighthearted
background illustration.

Mr. Alaasam was "easily the most well-known caricature artist in the
D.C. area," said Marie Cheek, an artist and agent. "Out of all the D.C.
caricature artists, people would ask for him more than anyone else" for
private parties, conventions and events, from Capitol Hill to the
Pentagon.

After such events, if he had a few minutes, he would often go into the
kitchens and back rooms of hotels to sketch the busboys, line cooks and
janitors, Cheek said.

Laura Schoppa, an artist who worked alongside him for years, said his
skill with portraits was only part of what contributed to his fame. He
was "a force of nature, very passionate and very, very popular," she
said. People would gather around his work space in the mall between
portraits, to talk, drink coffee and pass the time, she said.

"He captured a likeness extremely well, and he could flatter women
very, very well. He was good-looking, too, and he did a little bit of
flirting," Schoppa said. "He did so many retirement gifts for people in
the military that he could draw the Pentagon in an instant."

His work also appeared in advertising for real estate agents and
restaurants.

Born in Nasiriyah, Iraq, Mr. Alaasam graduated from art school in
Baghdad. He moved to Florence as a teenager and received bachelor's and
master's degrees in fine art from the Academia di Belle Arti. While
attending school, he drew portraits in the piazza in front of the
Uffizi museum and helped to organize the artists to get official
permission to work in the piazzas.

He married an American and moved to the United States in 1986, settling
in the Washington DC area in 1989.

Karen Farrish, a Fairfax, Virginia, businesswoman, first saw his work
several years ago when her daughter, then in preschool, brought a
portrait home. Farrish contacted Mr. Alaasam and subsequently hired him
for "every personal, professional and business event since then," she
said. "We have many of his works hanging in our house. He treated
people with respect -- he was a gentle man as well as a gentleman."

Mr. Alaasam worked until about two years ago, when a brain tumor was
diagnosed. He sought aid from a range of sources, including the
National Institutes of Health and herbal remedies. Artists from the
Washington area raised nearly $15,000 for his medical expenses.

A year ago, he moved from Falls Church, Virginia, to New Zealand to be
near one of his sisters.

His marriage to Nadia Daoud ended in divorce.

Survivors include two daughters, Camila Alaasam and Valentina Alaasam,
both of Burke, VIrginias; three sisters; and two brothers.

Wqashinton Post -- Patricia Sullivan

[Hyfler/Rosner]

> Mohamad J. Alaasam, a well-known caricature and portrait
> artist whose
> easel at the Crystal City (Arlington, Virginia)
> underground mall drew
> models, military personnel and maintenance workers, died
> September 10,
> 2006, of a brain tumor at his sister's home in Glenfield,
> New Zealand,
> near Auckland, New Zealand, at the age of 51.

http://aboutfacesentertainers.com/images/caricature/artists/alaasam_m/alaasam_m2.jpg
http://aboutfacesentertainers.com/images/caricature/artists/alaasam_m/alaasam_m.jpg
http://aboutfacesentertainers.com/images/caricature/artists/alaasam_m/alaasam_m7.jpg

[DGH]

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Re: Mohamad J. Alaasam, Caricature Artist, 51

Thanks for the additional information.