Edmond Soussa was a painter, decorator and an exceptional figure whose career uniquely combined art and international sport. Born in Egypt in 1898, he spent most of his life and artistic career in France, where he was active within the Parisian artistic milieu. Alongside his work as an artist, he achieved international fame as a professional billiards player, becoming the first Egyptian world champion and winning multiple world titles in carom billiards during the 1920s and 1930s. As a painter, Soussa specialized in portraiture and decorative work. His portraits often depict elegant figures of his time, including aristocratic sitters and refined female subjects, rendered with careful attention to character, posture and costume. His work as a decorator reflects a sensitivity to interior design and stylized composition typical of mid-twentieth-century taste. His painting is characterized by a combination of academic precision and soft, controlled handling of form, with particular attention to textures and fabrics.