"/>
ANNE SAÏD (born Anne Cobham) was a British Surrealist visual artist known for her meticulously detailed drawings and paintings that combined close observation of the natural world with a lyrical, often surreal quality.
Born in Hook, Hampshire in 1914, she studied at Queen’s College, London (1925–30), and later attended the Ozenfant Academy in London (1936–1939), where she trained alongside fellow Surrealist pioneers Stella Snead and Leonora Carrington. One of her most iconic paintings, Jacob’s Ladder Dream (1936), is a rare surviving work from this period. To support her studies, she worked as a textile designer - one of her fabric designs is now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
In 1941, Saïd moved to Cairo with her husband, famous Egyptian artist and educator Hamed Saïd. Together, they became important figures in Egypt’s postcolonial art scene. In 1942, they commissioned architect Hassan Fathy to design a mud-brick house and studio complex - the first building of its kind in his career—which became a hub for artists and students. In 1946, the couple co-founded the Art & Life Group, which promoted the integration of modern art with traditional Egyptian forms. The group exhibited to critical acclaim in Cairo in 1948 and 1955. In 1956, Hamed Saïd represented Egypt at the Venice Biennale, reflecting the group’s wider influence.
During her years in Egypt, Saïd continued to refine her precise drawing style, producing works that merged dreamlike imagery with spiritual symbolism. Her drawing The Dry Land was featured in The Word & The Image, a collaborative publication she created with Hamed Saïd. After returning to England in 1955 and divorcing shortly thereafter, she had her first solo exhibition at the Beaux Arts Gallery in London in 1957, followed by exhibitions at the New Art Centre and other venues.
From the early 1960s, Saïd lived in rural Wiltshire, where she resumed painting and began producing a new body of work influenced by her surroundings in the English countryside. Her subjects - tree roots, clouds, birds, woodland scenes - retained the intense clarity and meditative tone of her earlier work. She turned her coach house into a gallery, regularly exhibiting her own work alongside that of friends and fellow artists in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and the surrounding areas. Though modest in scale, these exhibitions formed an important part of her late career. She participated in joint exhibitions across Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and the surrounding region throughout the 1960s to 1980s. One of her best-known works from this period, Jo’s Wild Wood (1961), is in the collection of Tate.
Her work is held in the permanent collections of Tate, UK, the Victoria and Albert Museum, UK.