One of the first sculptors in 20th C Lebanon, Youssef Howayek (1883-1962) was born in the village of Halta, in Lebanon. At the time, his uncle, the Patriarch, sent the gifted Howayek to study art in Rome and later in Paris under Rodin. In Paris, he became close friends with Khalil Gibran and wrote a book about their encounters. Howayek’s most well-known work is the Matryrs Square monument in Beirut, now at the Sursock Museum.