Datuk Ibrahim Hussein studied at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore in 1956 but did not complete it. He graduated from the Byam Shaw School of Drawing and Painting (1959-1963), and the Royal Academy in London (1963-1966). In 1970, he took part in the Venice Biennale through the Smithsonian Institute workshop and in 1977, he was featured in the eventful tripartite exhibition with Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali in Kuwait. He was accorded a Retrospective by the National Art Gallery in 1986. His awards include the Anugerah Tokoh Terbilang (2007), the Japan Foundation Cultural Award (1988), the Monte Carlo 18th International Exhibition of Contemporary Art (1984), the Order of Andres Bello of Venezuela (1993). He set up the Ibrahim Museum and Cultural Foundation in Langkawi in 2000 and celebrated it with the Langkawi International Festival of Arts. He also organised the Club Mediterranee Asian Arts Festival in Cherating (Pahang) and Bali.