1924 Artist Ismail Al-Cheikhli was born in Baghdad, Iraq to a simple family. His father worked as a carpenter. His father supported Ismail in choosing to study what he loved.
1944 He studied and graduated from high school with distinction. He used to go to the Institute of Fine Arts in the evening to study. One of his professors was the artist Faik Hassan.
1945 He graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad and joined the Pioneers Group. He participated in the exhibition of the Friends of Art Association in the hall of the British Cultural Center and exhibited a painting entitled "A Personal Portrait".
1947 He was appointed assistant to the professor Faik Hassan at the Institute of Fine Arts and, in the same year, he received a mission to Paris to study at the National School of Fine Arts (Beaux Arts) and graduated in 1951.
In Paris, he lived in the Montparnasse neighborhood and its old cafes were a meeting place for intellectuals and artists from all over the world. Paris was a pilgrimage for artistic and cultural creativity. Ismail Al-Cheikhli settled there during his stay in Paris so it was an opportunity to meet and gather many renowned artists of this society. Among those renowned was Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and others.
1948 He participated in the Iraqi Art Exhibition in Beirut, in which he exhibited two paintings.
1950 He participated in the first exhibition of the Pioneers Group, which was held at the home of Dr. Khaled Al-Qassab in Baghdad.
1952 He returned to Baghdad and participated in the Pioneers Group exhibition in Baghdad as well as a Beirut exhibition in Lebanon.
1953 He married a French artist named "Suzanne" who bore his family name "Al-Cheikhli". In the same year, he participated in the first Alexandria exhibition in Egypt.
1955 He participated in the itinerant Iraqi exhibition in India, exhibiting three paintings and seven lithographs.
1956 With other artists, he founded the Iraqi Artists Association and participated in the Baghdad Exhibition for Painting and Sculpture at Al-Mansour Club, in which he exhibited five paintings.
1957 He participated in the Iraqi art exhibition in Beirut, and exhibited three paintings.
1958 He participated in the “Touring Exhibition” in China, the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Poland and Yugoslavia. He also participated in the Baghdad Exhibition for Painting and Sculpture in Al-Mansour Club and displayed five paintings.
1968 He participated in the exhibition "The Battle" in the hall of the National Museum of Modern Art in Baghdad.
From the 1960s until the 1970s, the artist worked as a professor of graphic art at the Academy of Fine Arts and was subsequently appointed as Head of the Department of Fine Arts at the Ministry of Culture and Information.
1972 He participated in the Contemporary Iraqi Art Exhibition at the Hall of the National Museum of Modern Art in Baghdad.
1973 He participated in the fifteenth Visual Artists’ Association in the Hall of the Visual Artists Association in Baghdad.
1974 He participated in the first Arab Biennale exhibition in Baghdad.
1976 He participated in an exhibition against racial discrimination in Baghdad.
1978 He was awarded the Order of Literature and Arts by the French state.
1981 He participated in the exhibition organized by the Ministry of Culture in Iraq.
1986 He was appointed as Director of the Department of Fine Arts in the Ministry of Culture and Chairman of the National Committee for Fine Arts in Iraq.
1995 A retrospective was held for him at the Saddam Center for the Arts in Baghdad.
2002 The artist passed away in Baghdad at the age of seventy-eight years.
2012 His works were exhibited at the exhibition "Fifty Years of Love for France and Iraq" which was held at the French Institute in Baghdad.
He was a member of the Iraqi Visual Artists Association.
