Noori al-Rawi was born in 1925 in Rawa, Al Anbar, Iraq, in the fertile, agricultural lands between the Euphrates River and the mountains and near the Babylonian city of Anah.

[2] In his youth, he spent much of his time in the Baghdad Library, where he met the poet, Badr Shakir al-Sayyab, who lived in a government apartment nearby.

The pair developed a friendship, and through this connection, al-Rawi learned about Iraq's ancient legacy in art and poetry.

[3] Al-Rawi began his working career teaching drawing and art, after having graduated from a local teachers' college.

He was one of the key founders of Baghdad's National Museum of Modern Art (1962) and served as its Director from 1962 to 1974, responsible for acquiring the artworks that would comprise the core collection.