(b. 1951)
Born in Dubai as an autodidact, Al-Rais has grown to be the country's most celebrated artist. He received a Bachelor of Sharia Law from the United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain (1982). He is a founding member of the Emirates Fine Arts Society and have had exhibited his work around the world and has won numerous prizes including the first prize at the Arab Painters' Exhibition in Kuwait and the gold medal at the Spring Exhibition in Abu Dhabi, the Sheikh Khalifa Prize for Art and Literature, Abu Dhabi (2006); Golden Palm Award, Gulf Cooperation Council Art Exhibition, Doha (1999); first prize at The UAE in the Eyes of Its Artists, Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation (1999); Sultan Al Owais Award for Scientific Studies and Creativity, Dubai (1992, 1994, 1996) and first prize at the UAE Exhibition in China (1991). Al Rais also had small exhibitions in countries such as Morocco, the Czech Republic, Germany, Lebanon and the USA. Although he is working as a legal advisor to the Labour Ministry, he has developed his talent for painting and draws inspiration from the region's landscape and many of his compositions feature traditional doors and windows, Arabic letter forms, whilst some are purely abstract. He continues to live and work in the UAE.