Kiraz is the professional name of Edmond Kirazian. He was born in Cairo, Egypt, in 1923 of Armenian parents. He studied at French schools in Cairo and during World War II started drawing political cartoons for local newspapers. He took a course and became a draughtsman.
In 1946, Kiraz moved to Paris where he has lived since. In 1949, he started to draw the sexy sophisticated Parisiennes which have become his trademark.
Kiraz is a self-trained illustrator and painter. His paintings have been exhibited at the Galerie Barlier in Paris.
His advertisements for Canderel have won him awards for best publicity, best posters and the woman's choice from the Syndicat de Publicite and Cosmopolitan magazine. For 35 years he has drawn weekly illustrations for Jours de France and currently illustrates a weekly page for Gala magazine. His work has appeared in Glamour, French Vogue and Playboy Magazine. His corporate clients include Nivea Beauty Products and Canderel.
Kiraz has published 12 books of his cartoons since 1953. Two of his latest are "Never the First Evening" in 2001 and "Kiraz in Playboy" in 2002.
He is inspired by women, particularly Parisian women, who do a lot of shopping and change boyfriends at the drop of a hat. They are always in a hurry. He likes to pass time in cafes watching them go by, so that he can go home and draw them.