İhap Hulusi was born on November 28th, 1898 in Cairo. His father Ahmet Hulusi Bey is Egypt’s most prominent architect and building contractor. He had two brothers; Yavuz the sculptor and Nihat who was destined to become Egypt’s most famous museum curator. Ihap Hulusi, on the other hand, set his heart on painting from a very young age. He completed his elementary and high school education at well-establish English schools in Cairo.

  “… I started to receive painting lessons by post. I would send my work to an artist in Germany… However, it became clear to me at early stage that I would not get far with this method. So I went to Germany in 1920 to get formal art education…”

Adamant he would make a living from painting, Ihap Hulusi arrived in the German city of Munich in 1920 and thereon, every day for two whole years he painted from models at the Heimann Schule (School). He later went on to join Kunstgewerbe Schule’s poster department. By 1923, his Works were being exhibited at Lycee de Galatasaray (İstanbul) along the likes of İbrahim Çallı and Şevket Dağlı. It was around this time that he received his first orders in Germany. One of his great influences, world famous poster artist Ludwig Hohlwein suggested Hulusi to continue his career in the United States however he returned to his home country – Turkey. 

Immediately after his arrival in İstanbul, he started working for Akbaba (Vulture) Magazine. It did not take long for his name to be heard. He met Atatürk, founder of the Turkish Republic and following the Alphabet Revolution in 1928, Hulusi illustrated the first alphabet cover depicting Atatürk teaching his adopted daughter Ülkü the new alphabet. In 1929, Ihap Hulusi established his own graphic design atelier. He worked for the National Lottery Administration for 45 years and the National Monopolies Administration for 35 years. He also worked for several public institutions, domestic and international companies including Yapı Kredi Bank, Ziraat Bank, Garanti Bank, İş Bank, Sümerbank, Turkish Green Crescent, the coffee brand Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi and Kodak.

As he got old and new advertisement agencies mushroomed within the city, Ihap Hulusi Görey started to loose popularity ended up getting fewer orders. Thereon, he got more involved in watercolours and calligraphy. His works in these disciplines were just as superior. During the same era, Görey art was exhibited and continued to gather attention. Ihap Hulusi Görey passed away on March 27th, 1986.   

İhap Hulusi Görey Gallery has been brought in Cumhuriyet Museum in 2010, within the context of Turkish Republic's 87th Anniversary activities, by then Rector of the Marmara University, Prof. Dr Zafer GÜL