In 1951, Jewad Selim and Shakir Hassan Al Said founded the Baghdad Modern Art Group, rallying young artists around a shared question: How could Iraqi culture be reimagined through abstraction? They called their goal Istilham al-turath (the inspiration of heritage), and they carried it forward during political upheaval: the Arab defeat of 1967 and the rise of pan-Arabism in the 1970s. Though the group eventually disbanded, its influence has outlasted wars, sanctions, and isolation. This in-depth exhibition, drawn from major collections, is the first to “contextualize” the group’s work and legacy. —Elena Clavarino