Kamel Mostafa was an Egyptian impressionist painter recognized for his soft oil paint scenes depicting daily life in Egypt. He began his studies at the Faculty of Fine Art in Alexandria under the instruction of noted Egyptian artists Ragheb Ayad, Youssef Kamel, and Mohammed Nagui, graduating with a painting degree in 1941. In 1946 Mostafa received a government grant to travel to Rome to continue his studies. He returned to Alexandria in 1950 and completed a second degree in oil paint restoration. Following his studies, he worked as both an artist and educator in Egypt. Mostafa served as an instructor at the Faculty of Fine Art in Alexandria between 1958 and 1977. In 1969, he was additionally appointed dean of the Faculty of Fine Art.

Along with his contemporaries, Mostafa was part of second generation of Egyptian modernists who built on the arts innovations initiated by early Egyptian modernists like Mahmoud Said, Ragheb Ayad, Youssef Kamel, and Mohamed Nagui. In 1979, a retrospective exhibition of his work was held at the Museum of the Faculty of Fine Art, Alexandria, celebrating the artist’s significance in the development of Egyptian modernism.