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PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-0710; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.armenianchurch-ed.net
August 13, 2012
_______________________________________________
Anahid Janjigian, Prominent Armenian-American Artist, Dies
The well-known American-born Armenian painter Anahid Janjigian passed
away on July 25, 2012, after a brief illness.
Born in Roxbury, Mass., in 1923, Ms. Janjigian grew up in Queens, N.Y.
with her family, parents Jenev and Hagop Janjigian and sister
Shaké. Hagop was a tailor by profession but had been a master potter
in Arabkir, descending from a long line of artisans. He filled their
Flushing home with a museum-worthy collection of pots and bowls which
his daughter Anahid had painted.
Janjigian began her career in the 1940s at the Art Students League
under a scholarship in recognition of her artistic merit. She studied
with Yasuo Kuniyoshi, George Grosz, and John Groth.
A one-man show in 1947 at the Bonestell Galleries introduced her to
the New York art scene as the protégé of the late Dikran Kelekian, an
art dealer, collector, and connoisseur. Kelekian considered her one of
the five greatest artists in the world at the time, and eventually
added 30 of her paintings to his personal collection. In November 1951
a second one-man show at the Argent Galleries was hailed as a great
success by New York critics.
In addition to numerous group shows in the metropolitan area,
Janjigian's paintings have been on exhibition at the National Academy
of Design, Whitney Museum, American Watercolor Society, Audubon
Artists, New York City Center, and Hecksher Museum, among others, to
glowing reviews celebrating her figurative-expressionistic style, the
"opulence of her oils," the "iridescent grace of her watercolors," all
reminiscent of the "rich, jewel-like tones of Oriental tapestry." She
also exhibited at the respective New York City headquarters of the
AGBU and the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America. Her paintings
are included in important private collections throughout the United
States.
For many years Janjigian owned a studio in Flushing where she worked
and held classes. These eventually continued in a home studio where
hundreds of adults and children benefited from her talents as artist
and teacher. Art school students often sought her help in preparing
their graduate portfolios. Although she taught people of all ages, the
children's classes were especially dear; she delighted in the
children's work, citing the fresh and pure way they could see the
world, a way of seeing that adult artists struggled to achieve.
Anahid left her mark on countless friends and students who were drawn
to her warmth, strength, intelligence, and infectious love of art. She
is survived by her daughter Adrienne who took devoted care of her in
recent years, and is consoled in knowing that her mother "loved art
and loved teaching, and always said that she had spent her whole life
doing both, doing exactly what she loved and wanted to do."
###
Photos attached.
Photo 1: Anahid Janjigian.
Photo 2: Tabby Cat, by Anahid Janjigian (Oil on canvass, 40" x 30").
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-0710; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.armenianchurch-ed.net
August 13, 2012
_______________________________________________
Anahid Janjigian, Prominent Armenian-American Artist, Dies
The well-known American-born Armenian painter Anahid Janjigian passed
away on July 25, 2012, after a brief illness.
Born in Roxbury, Mass., in 1923, Ms. Janjigian grew up in Queens, N.Y.
with her family, parents Jenev and Hagop Janjigian and sister
Shaké. Hagop was a tailor by profession but had been a master potter
in Arabkir, descending from a long line of artisans. He filled their
Flushing home with a museum-worthy collection of pots and bowls which
his daughter Anahid had painted.
Janjigian began her career in the 1940s at the Art Students League
under a scholarship in recognition of her artistic merit. She studied
with Yasuo Kuniyoshi, George Grosz, and John Groth.
A one-man show in 1947 at the Bonestell Galleries introduced her to
the New York art scene as the protégé of the late Dikran Kelekian, an
art dealer, collector, and connoisseur. Kelekian considered her one of
the five greatest artists in the world at the time, and eventually
added 30 of her paintings to his personal collection. In November 1951
a second one-man show at the Argent Galleries was hailed as a great
success by New York critics.
In addition to numerous group shows in the metropolitan area,
Janjigian's paintings have been on exhibition at the National Academy
of Design, Whitney Museum, American Watercolor Society, Audubon
Artists, New York City Center, and Hecksher Museum, among others, to
glowing reviews celebrating her figurative-expressionistic style, the
"opulence of her oils," the "iridescent grace of her watercolors," all
reminiscent of the "rich, jewel-like tones of Oriental tapestry." She
also exhibited at the respective New York City headquarters of the
AGBU and the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America. Her paintings
are included in important private collections throughout the United
States.
For many years Janjigian owned a studio in Flushing where she worked
and held classes. These eventually continued in a home studio where
hundreds of adults and children benefited from her talents as artist
and teacher. Art school students often sought her help in preparing
their graduate portfolios. Although she taught people of all ages, the
children's classes were especially dear; she delighted in the
children's work, citing the fresh and pure way they could see the
world, a way of seeing that adult artists struggled to achieve.
Anahid left her mark on countless friends and students who were drawn
to her warmth, strength, intelligence, and infectious love of art. She
is survived by her daughter Adrienne who took devoted care of her in
recent years, and is consoled in knowing that her mother "loved art
and loved teaching, and always said that she had spent her whole life
doing both, doing exactly what she loved and wanted to do."
###
Photos attached.
Photo 1: Anahid Janjigian.
Photo 2: Tabby Cat, by Anahid Janjigian (Oil on canvass, 40" x 30").
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress