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$30m of Arthur Pinajian art found in Long Island garage
Two homeowners who bought a run-down cottage for $300,000 made the
investment of a lifetime after finding a treasure trove of art worth
an estimated $30 million in the garage.
Thomas Schultz, of Bellport, NY, sorting through artwork by Arthur
Pinajian Photo: Kirk J Condyles
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9916472/30m-of-Arthur-Pinajian-art-found-in-Long-Island-garage.html
By Nick Allen, Los Angeles7:56PM GMT 07 Mar 2013
Thomas Schultz and his friend Larry Joseph - who are both investors -
purchased the ramshackle bungalow in Bellport, New York in 2007,
hoping to renovate it.
But inside they found thousands of paintings and drawings by obscure
Armenian-American artist Arthur Pinajian, who had died in 1999 at the
age of 85.
Pinajian, a former resident of the property who struggled to find
success in the art world all his life, had instructed that the works
be thrown away when he died. His wishes were ignored, and they
remained gathering dust amid bugs, vermin and mould.
Mr Schultz, a local Bellport resident and his friend Mr Joseph, a
writer and businessman, paid an extra $2,500 for the art collection
and set about restoring it.
The pieces included abstract expressionist paintings, landscapes,
sketches from the Second World War, illustrations for 1930s comic
books, and images from the 1960 Woodstock artist colonies. In all,
there were more than 3,000 paintings, drawings and illustrations.
Some of the abstract paintings are currently being exhibited in New
York and are on sale for up to $87,000 each.
According to News 12 Long Island, the collection was valued by Peter
Hastings Falk, author of Who Was Who in American Art. He also once
appraised art from the Andy Warhol estate.
Mr Falk told The Armenian Weekly: "He (Pinajian) painted every day but
no one saw his art. He received no reviews and not one of his
paintings or works on paper ever was shown in a New York gallery or
museum."
Untitled Landscape Bellport by Arthur Pinajian
Pinajian struggled financially and relied on his secretary sister for
support. The siblings lived together most of their lives and neither
married.
Speaking to the New York Times following the discovery of the artworks
in 2007, Pinajian's cousin, John Aramian, said: "He thought he was
going to be the next Picasso. They believed he would become famous and
this would all pay off for them one day but it just never happened.
"So he became frustrated and withdrew from everything and just painted."
American art historian William Innes Homer, who died last year, had
compared Pinajian to a "lone researcher in a laboratory pursuing
knowledge for its own sake."
The art historian wrote: "He pursued his goals in isolation with the
single-minded focus of a Gauguin or Cézanne, refusing to give up in
the face of public indifference.
"He was passionate and unequivocally committed. Ultimately, Pinajian's
work reflects the soul of a flawed, yet brilliant, artistic genius.
When he hits the mark, especially in his abstractions, he can be
ranked among the best artists of his era."
From: A. Papazian
Two homeowners who bought a run-down cottage for $300,000 made the
investment of a lifetime after finding a treasure trove of art worth
an estimated $30 million in the garage.
Thomas Schultz, of Bellport, NY, sorting through artwork by Arthur
Pinajian Photo: Kirk J Condyles
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9916472/30m-of-Arthur-Pinajian-art-found-in-Long-Island-garage.html
By Nick Allen, Los Angeles7:56PM GMT 07 Mar 2013
Thomas Schultz and his friend Larry Joseph - who are both investors -
purchased the ramshackle bungalow in Bellport, New York in 2007,
hoping to renovate it.
But inside they found thousands of paintings and drawings by obscure
Armenian-American artist Arthur Pinajian, who had died in 1999 at the
age of 85.
Pinajian, a former resident of the property who struggled to find
success in the art world all his life, had instructed that the works
be thrown away when he died. His wishes were ignored, and they
remained gathering dust amid bugs, vermin and mould.
Mr Schultz, a local Bellport resident and his friend Mr Joseph, a
writer and businessman, paid an extra $2,500 for the art collection
and set about restoring it.
The pieces included abstract expressionist paintings, landscapes,
sketches from the Second World War, illustrations for 1930s comic
books, and images from the 1960 Woodstock artist colonies. In all,
there were more than 3,000 paintings, drawings and illustrations.
Some of the abstract paintings are currently being exhibited in New
York and are on sale for up to $87,000 each.
According to News 12 Long Island, the collection was valued by Peter
Hastings Falk, author of Who Was Who in American Art. He also once
appraised art from the Andy Warhol estate.
Mr Falk told The Armenian Weekly: "He (Pinajian) painted every day but
no one saw his art. He received no reviews and not one of his
paintings or works on paper ever was shown in a New York gallery or
museum."
Untitled Landscape Bellport by Arthur Pinajian
Pinajian struggled financially and relied on his secretary sister for
support. The siblings lived together most of their lives and neither
married.
Speaking to the New York Times following the discovery of the artworks
in 2007, Pinajian's cousin, John Aramian, said: "He thought he was
going to be the next Picasso. They believed he would become famous and
this would all pay off for them one day but it just never happened.
"So he became frustrated and withdrew from everything and just painted."
American art historian William Innes Homer, who died last year, had
compared Pinajian to a "lone researcher in a laboratory pursuing
knowledge for its own sake."
The art historian wrote: "He pursued his goals in isolation with the
single-minded focus of a Gauguin or Cézanne, refusing to give up in
the face of public indifference.
"He was passionate and unequivocally committed. Ultimately, Pinajian's
work reflects the soul of a flawed, yet brilliant, artistic genius.
When he hits the mark, especially in his abstractions, he can be
ranked among the best artists of his era."
From: A. Papazian