Mohamed Kamel Abbas Ghandar(1923 - 2012), known as Kamel Ghandar, was born in Port Said. He specialized in painting and began his artistic journey through self-learning and free studies, developing a distinctive style and artistic approach. He was a founding member of the Syndicate of Fine Artists and served as the director of the French “Cultura” Hall in Garden City between 1957 and 1961. He lived between Port Said and Cairo, where his works were deeply influenced by Egyptian life and nature.

His solo exhibitions included shows at the French Club Hall in Port Said (1953), the French Friendship Club in Cairo (1953), and the French Club in Port Tewfik (1953). He also exhibited at the Eastern Exchange Hotel in Port Said (1955), the Goethe Institute Hall in Cairo (1974), and the Port Said Governorate Hall (1975). Additional exhibitions took place at the Goethe Institute in Cairo (1984) and Saba Hall in Zamalek (1999). In local group exhibitions, he participated in Cairo Salon editions (33rd, 34th, 37th, and 45th) and the General Exhibition for Fine Arts (3rd, 8th, 10th, and 11th editions). He also contributed to the One Piece Exhibition, Spring Exhibitions in Cairo and Alexandria (1978, 1979), and Cairo Salon (51st edition) in 1980. His work was featured in the National Fine Arts Association Salons (1981, 1984, 1985), as well as Cairo Salons (52nd, 53rd, 54th editions) and the 19th General Fine Arts Exhibition (1989). His notable exhibitions included Coptic Scenes, Views from Nubia, and The Pastelists at Picasso Hall (1997), as well as Nile Views and The Apartment (1998), A Touch of Light and The Landscape (1999), Watercolors (2001), and the First Fine Arts Creativity Festival (2007). His works were also displayed at Khan Al-Maghrabi Hall, Cordoba Gallery, and the Egyptian Museum of Modern Art from 2007 to 2023. Internationally, he participated in the 3rd Alexandria Biennale for Mediterranean Countries (1959, 1961) and the Contemporary Egyptian Art exhibition at Khan Al-Maghrabi Hall in London (1997). Ghandar established a permanent financial award for outstanding students in an annual competition, named “The Kamel Ghandar Watercolor Prize” to encourage them to practice this art form and preserve its legacy.

He also documented key historical events, producing a series of paintings on the 1956 War and the October 1973 War in Port Said. His work included a collection from his 1963 journey to Nubia, capturing Nubian life and landscapes before they were submerged by the High Dam waters. This resulted in a large series of pastel and watercolor paintings, along with 160 sketches depicting Nubian life and lost villages now beneath Lake Nasser. By 2003, Ghandar had completed 242 works, many of which are part of private collections in Egypt, Arab countries, Europe, and the United States. His paintings are also housed in official collections at the Egyptian Museum of Modern Art in Cairo, the Victory Museum in Port Said, the Faculty of Art Education Museum in Zamalek, and the Al-Ahram Foundation headquarters in Cairo.