Qassim Alsaedy was born in Baghdad and studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Baghdad from 1969 to 1973.
Because of his involvement in a Democratic Student Movement, Qassim Alsaedy was imprisoned by Saddam Hussein’s regime. He was held for nine months as a political prisoner in the Qasr al Nihayyah (Palace of the End) prison where he was continuously tortured. In response to this hellish experience, the Iraqi-Dutch painter began a search for what he calls absolute beauty.
After years of wandering through various countries in the Middle East, Qassim Alsaedy received an invitation from the Dutch government to settle in the Netherlands.
In recent years he has made an impressive career as an artist. He exhibits and sells work in Europe, the Middle East and Asia and is considered one of the most important contemporary Iraqi artists.