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ARMENIAN ARTIST CREATED TWO FRESNO SCULPTURES
By Paula Lloyd
Fresno Bee
Feb 16 2009
CA
Question: What happened to Varaz Samuelian's artworks? -- Lesley
Purewal, Clovis
Answer: The late sculptor and artist Varaz Samuelian was born in
Yerevan, Armenia, and came to Fresno in 1957.
He created two well-known sculptures on display in downtown Fresno --
the 18-foot-tall copper-plate David of Sassoon statue beside the Hall
of Records and a bust of William Saroyan in front of Saroyan Theatre
at the Convention Center.
By his own count, Samuelian created about 1,000 works during his 40
years in Fresno, some of which were displayed at his Varaz Modern
Art Museum which once stood near Community Regional Medical Center.
Samuelian gave the David of Sassoon statue to Fresno County, and it
was installed in 1971. The statue depicts the warrior astride his
horse, Jalai, wielding a huge sword, as legend says he did to drive
invaders from Armenia around the 7th century.
Samuelian made a concrete working model of the David of Sassoon statue,
which sits in a backyard near L and Monterey street. It can be glimpsed
from northbound Highway 41.
Samuelian made a second statue of his friend Saroyan. The 30-foot
metal and wood structure -- a bust of Saroyan atop 4-foot models
of some of his books -- once sat at Samuelian's museum. The work is
owned by California State University, Fresno, and is being restored
by the school's sculpture department.
Some of Samuelian's artwork belongs to the Armenian Studies program at
Fresno state. Many other pieces of his work are stored in a northwest
Fresno warehouse.
Samuelian died in 1995 at 78.
By Paula Lloyd
Fresno Bee
Feb 16 2009
CA
Question: What happened to Varaz Samuelian's artworks? -- Lesley
Purewal, Clovis
Answer: The late sculptor and artist Varaz Samuelian was born in
Yerevan, Armenia, and came to Fresno in 1957.
He created two well-known sculptures on display in downtown Fresno --
the 18-foot-tall copper-plate David of Sassoon statue beside the Hall
of Records and a bust of William Saroyan in front of Saroyan Theatre
at the Convention Center.
By his own count, Samuelian created about 1,000 works during his 40
years in Fresno, some of which were displayed at his Varaz Modern
Art Museum which once stood near Community Regional Medical Center.
Samuelian gave the David of Sassoon statue to Fresno County, and it
was installed in 1971. The statue depicts the warrior astride his
horse, Jalai, wielding a huge sword, as legend says he did to drive
invaders from Armenia around the 7th century.
Samuelian made a concrete working model of the David of Sassoon statue,
which sits in a backyard near L and Monterey street. It can be glimpsed
from northbound Highway 41.
Samuelian made a second statue of his friend Saroyan. The 30-foot
metal and wood structure -- a bust of Saroyan atop 4-foot models
of some of his books -- once sat at Samuelian's museum. The work is
owned by California State University, Fresno, and is being restored
by the school's sculpture department.
Some of Samuelian's artwork belongs to the Armenian Studies program at
Fresno state. Many other pieces of his work are stored in a northwest
Fresno warehouse.
Samuelian died in 1995 at 78.