Abd-el-Tif prize

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Abd-el-Tif prize

The Abd-el-Tif prize was a French art award given every year from 1907 to 1961. It was modeled on the Prix de Rome and offered French artists a chance to study Islamic art in North Africa. The prize included a financial bursary and a one-year stay at Villa Abd-el-Tif in Algiers, a state-run center for the study of Islamic art. It was created in 1907 by Léonce Bénédite, a museum curator, and Charles Jonnart, the governor-general of French Algeria. Winners were chosen by the Société des Peintres Orientalistes Français (Society of French Orientalist Painters). The prize produced many notable painters and sculptors; the first winners in 1907 were Léon Cauvy and Paul Jouve. The prize ended in 1961. Villa Abd-el-Tif served as a residence and center for artists studying Islamic art in Algeria.