Edward Totah was born into a family of Syrian descent in Lebanon in 1949, where he was brought up; he also held an Iranian passport. Immigrating to London in the late 1960s to study social sciences at Regent Street Polytechnic, he returned briefly to Lebanon after graduation before moving permanently to London in 1974 as a refugee fleeing the civil war. Following an early interest in art dealing as a student, Totah opened his eponymous gallery in London in 1979, earning a reputation as a dealer and showcasing many important international contemporary artists.
Gallerist and art dealer, Edward Totah was born into a family of Syrian descent in Lebanon on 28 June 1949, where he was brought up. He also held an Iranian passport. Totah immigrated to London in the late 1960s to further his education, studying social sciences at Regent Street Polytechnic (now University of Westminster), London between 1968 and 1972. Even as a student, he began dealing in art. After receiving his diploma, Totah returned to Lebanon with the intention of stepping into a role as vice-president in his father’s detergent factory. However, due to the impending conflict in the country, his father decided to sell his business. Totah then returned to London in 1974, fleeing the Lebanese civil war (1975–90).
Folowing the move to London, he quickly immersed himself in the capital's art scene, often serving as a connector between artists and collectors across the UK, Europe, and the USA. He initially started buying and selling prints. Totah subsequently became fascinated by the Surrealists, dealing in works by Joan Miró, René Magritte, Max Ernst, and Victor Vasarely. Over time, his attention shifted to Oriental rugs. In 1979, he opened the Edward Totah Gallery at 39 Floral Street, Covent garden before relocating to a larger space at 31 Old Burlington Street. The new gallery location was parallel to Cork Street,then London’s most vibrant and iconic art hub, and close to the Burlington Arms pub, which was regularly frequented by individuals from the art world. Supporting younger and lesser known British artists, including Derek Jarman, Stephen Farthing, Graham Crowley, and Stephen McKenna, Totah’s inaugural exhibition was dedicated to Joe Tilson’s works on paper. Totah was also inspired by the Italian art scene and showcased artists such as Lucio Fontana, Enrico Castellani, Alighiero Boetti, and Emilio Tadini, even bringing some Italian artists to London for the first time. Nicholas Serota, Tate’s former director, described Totah’s contribution to London’s 1980s art scene as ‘legendary’ (Edward Totah Gallery: Online Exhibition).
The Edward Totah Gallery specialised in several categories: ‘First, the relatively few artists he exhibited came from countries other than Britain, second, Totah has begun to sandwich the odd exhibition of established art between two of contemporary art, so that, for example, a Léger show followed one by the Portuguese Paula Rego and preceded the black South African Gavin Jantjes,’ (Miller, 1983, p. 24). Indeed, Totah connected London’s art scene to what was happening outside of the UK. When he opened his gallery, he claimed he was ‘unaware of the contemporary British scene’ and considered English artists to be too much influenced by American ones, but had extensive knowledge of European artists (Miller, 1983, p. 25). Indeed, as Serota noted in 1997, Totah’s gallery exhibited artists that would otherwise not have been seen in the UK (Edward Totah Gallery: Online Exhibition). Totah was also one of the first gallerists in London to exhibit artists of colour, such as Gavin Jantjes, with A South African Colouring Book in 1980–81. Alexis Hunter, Paula Rego, Jean-Marc Prouveur, and Derek Boshier were Totah’s principal artists, whose works he regularly showed. Unlike his peers in the London art market who primarily focused on established British artists, Totah sought to cultivate a programme rich in diversity. As a dealer Totah was not always as focused on profit as much as establishing a specific aesthetic focus for his gallery. Alongside the London gallery, Totah had a space in New York and often collaborated with Galleria Seno in Milan. The Edward Totah Gallery also regularly exhibited at the important annual art fair, Art Basel Switzerland.
Edward Totah died in 1995. The Tate Archives holds documentation of exhibitions held at the Edward Totah Gallery.
Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [Edward Totah]
Publications related to [Edward Totah] in the Ben Uri Library