arthur pinajian Arthur Pinajian

[MosJan]

Rarely do we discover a worthy artist who works alone and unheralded. Arthur Pinajian was one of them. He drew and painted in obscurity until his death in 1999 at the age of 85. Sharing a modest one-story cottage in the village in Bellport, New York, with his sister Armen (d.2005), Pinajian depended on her totally for financial and moral support.

To our knowledge, no articles were written about Pinajian and he exhibited and sold his paintings only rarely. Despite this neglect, he pursued his art steadfastly and with incredible determination. The majority of his work was found after his death stacked up in the one-car garage and attic of his sister’s property. Along with the art were found his journals, many letters, and sketch books that spanned the 50 years of his creative life. When all is said and done, this oeuvre is important because it represents an artist’s life in its totality. Within it is found a prize legacy that will endure for posterity; the remainder will win the respect of scholars as they study in depth the life of a truly original artist.

Pinajian, the son of Armenian holocaust survivors, was a native of Union City, New Jersey. He started as a cartoonist in the 1930s and found considerable success fashioning comic strips for Quality, Marvel, and Centaur Comics. After World War II, during which he earned the Bronze Star for valor, he rejected commercial art, attended the Art Students League in New York, and committed himself to the pursuit of serious painting. Prior to his many years in Bellport with Armen, he rented a studio in Woodstock, New York, and there and in West New York, New Jersey, he began to wrestle with the challenges of being a modern artist.

This meant painting in a variety of styles ranging from the figurative to the abstract. The word exploration sums up the nature of his quest: he worked in the manner of Impressionism, Fauvism, Expressionism, and Cubism before turning to Surrealism and various modes of abstraction, including Abstract Expressionism. Part of Pinajian’s learning process was to echo the styles of well-known artists — making free copies as a means of perfecting his visual vocabulary. In the end, however, he forged his own style without a heavy debt to others. He also philosophized about the creative process. Found among his effects were numerous journals in which he wrote down his ideas about the making of art. Issues of color, composition, and pattern captured much of his attention.

It is noteworthy that he became a veritable master of structural color.

What is so remarkable about Pinajian is his wholehearted dedication to the process of painting. He pursued his goals in isolation with the single-minded focus of a Gauguin or Cezanne, refusing to give up in the face of public indifference. In his later years he could be compared to a researcher in a laboratory pursuing knowledge for its own sake.

Pinajian’s work is uneven, but when he hits the mark, especially in his abstractions, he can be ranked among the best artists of his era. It is satisfying to contemplate his more successful works, doubly so because they capture the excitement of visual modernism and exude a painterly integrity that is rare in our time. - William Innes Homer

[MosJan]

http://www.pinajianart.com/biography.htm

[MosJan]

Armenian-American artist’s works found in garage, estimated at $30mln

 

http://media.pn.am/media/issue/148/921/photo/148921.jpg

March 7, 2013 - 15:58 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Works by an obscure Armenian-American abstract impressionist discovered in a Long Island garage have been appraised at $30 million, The Associated Press reported.

The new owner of the Bellport cottage found thousands of paintings, drawings and journals by Arthur Pinajian. Some pieces already have sold for $500,000. Fifty of his landscapes are currently on exhibit at Manhattan's Fuller Building.

A recently published book by art historian William Innes Homer calls Pinajian's abstractions among the best of his era.

The bungalow was purchased in 2007 by Thomas Schultz.

[MosJan]

Revealing the Art of Arthur Pinajian

 

Posted by Florence Avakian on March 6, 2013 in Mid-Atlantic

 

 

NEW YORK—An exhibition of Arthur Pinajian’s abstract paintings was opened on Wed., Feb. 13 at the Antiquorum, on the fifth floor of the Fuller Building, located at 41 East 57^th Street in New York. The exhibition is a revealing insight into the artistry of a painter who has been compared to Arshile Gorky. A significant part of the proceeds will support the work of the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR) in Armenia. The 34 paintings, which are available for purchase, will be on exhibition and open to the public until March 10, Tuesday through Saturday, from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Also available is a catalogue of his works, entitled Pinajian: Master of Abstraction Discovered, with essays by well-known art scholars, and edited by art scholar Peter Hastings Falk.

http://www.armenianweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/30199-Lawrence_E._Joseph_Arto_Vorperian_Peter_Hastings_Falk-300x200.jpeg

 

 

(L-R) Lawrence E. Joseph, Arto Vorperian, and Peter Hastings Falk.

A unique artist

During the opening night reception, FAR official Arto Vorperian welcomed the close to 200 guests, which included museum officials, art dealers, and art lovers. Peter Hastings Falk, the catalogue editor, also spoke, revealing that Arthur Pinajian did not follow the route of current artists who employ a retinue of agents, dealers, and business people. Pinajian, in a word, “did not conform to today’s norms. He 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.” When he died, his art, which had been stored in his garage, was left to be destroyed at his request. Fortunately, it was rescued at the last minute, as the New York Times reported.

Although there are few people today who know of his brilliant creativity, one couple at the opening reception related how they had purchased a figurative painting many years ago from the artist for a mere $100, “so that Pinajian could have money to purchase paint for his work.” Today, his abstract paintings are on sale for $3,750 to $87,000. A veteran art dealer at the exhibition predicted that in a few years, the price would shoot up to more than three or four times the amounts currently listed, as his fame spreads. It seems he was an artist one reads about in novels or sees in films—that is, the legendary starving artist who only sold paintings so that he could buy materials needed to continue his work.

Arthur Pinajian, the child of Vartanoosh, a skilled embroiderer, and her husband Hagop, who worked for a dry cleaner, was born in 1914, with the name of Ashod in Union City, N.J. However, he preferred his nickname, Archie. A precocious youngster, he excelled in school, skipping grades, and possessed a voracious desire to draw with both hands at the same time. Newly graduated from high school in 1930 at age 16, during the Great Depression, with his father and uncle out of work, he took a job as a clerk in a carpet company to support his family. With the untimely death of his mother in 1932, he moved his father and sister to a much smaller apartment in Long Island, warmed only by a pot-belly stove.

A pioneer in cartoon art

Like many around him, the young Pinajian, seeking to escape from these harsh circumstances, went to the movies; after seeing Paul Muni in “Scarface,” he started his first comic strip. While still working at the carpet firm, he was hired as a freelance cartoonist by Lud Shabazian, a reporter-illustrator at the New York Daily News, and at age 20, he was promoting himself as a commercial illustrator. Taking only the sessions he could afford at the Art Students’ League and with the aid of the G.I. Bill, he honed his skills in the medium of the modern-day comic book. Regarded as among the pioneers of this new medium, he achieved considerable success in writing and drawing for such publishers as Quality, Marvel and Centaur, and working as an illustrator for ad agencies.

Following his service in the U.S. Army in World War II, for which he was awarded a Bronze Star, he was drawn to the works of the old and modern art masters, and endlessly roamed through the Manhattan museums and art galleries. For the last 26 years of his life, he devoted his life completely to art, living in a tiny room. It was not until eight years after his death, that Pinajian’s artistic works would see the light of day. He was an artist who never used the tools of marketability, or exploited commercial connections. Never interested in fame, he was just too busy painting.

Artistic struggle

Pinajian’s art displays his emotional quest between figurative and abstract art. His representational art focused on landscapes and female nudes. Renowned art critic John Perreault writes that through Pinajian’s writings, which were scribbled in notebooks or on small bits of paper, we enter into his world of struggle and tension. “Pinajian found no easy answers. Each painting is a puzzle and a struggle, yielding light.”

The Pinajian story “is or could be the basis of a new myth, that of the secret artist,” continues Perreault. “The secret artist lives among us. He (or she) seems ordinary on the outside and gives little sign of a hidden calling. Yet out of view, the secret artist toils, producing painting after painting. The ecstasy is in the making. Looking at Pinajian’s lifetime of work, we participate in that ecstasy.”

The Fund for Armenian Relief, an organization founded following a devastating earthquake in 1988, has served hundreds of thousands of people through more than 225 relief and development programs in Armenia and Artsakh (Karabagh). It has channeled more than $290 million in humanitarian and developmental assistance by implementing a wide range of projects, including emergency relief, construction, education, medical aid, and economic development.

[Azat]

super interesting...

[Arpa]

http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/content/art-found-ny-garage-appraised-30m

 

Art found in NY garage appraised at $30M

Associated Press

Bemidji Pioneer

Thursday, March 7, 2013 - 1:23pm

BELLPORT, N.Y. (AP) — Works by an obscure Armenian-American abstract impressionist discovered in a New York cottage have been appraised at $30 million.

In 2007, the new owner of a bungalow in Bellport, on Long Island, found thousands of paintings, drawings and journals by Arthur Pinajian in a garage and attic. News 12 Long Island says Peter Hastings Falk valued the works. He once appraised art from the Andy Warhol estate.

Some pieces already have sold for $500,000. Fifty of his landscapes are currently on exhibit at Manhattan's Fuller Building.

A recently published book by art historian William Innes Homer calls Pinajian's abstractions among the best of his era.

The run-down bungalow and one-car garage were purchased for around $300,000 in 2007.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9916472/30m-of-Arthur-Pinajian-art-found-in-Long-Island-garage.html

Edited March 8, 2013 by Arpa

[Yervant1]

Could a $30 Million Surprise Be Hiding in Your Garage?

 

AARP Blog

Posted on 03/7/2013

 

by Patrick Kiger

 

You never know what you're going to find in that pile of old stuff

that's accumulated in your garage. If you're lucky, you could discover

some forgotten treasure, like an antique mirror that used to belong to

your Aunt Sophie, or a collection of vintage copies of Life magazine.

 

Or, if you're really lucky, you might find a bunch of paintings by the

late Armenian-American abstract-expressionist Arthur Pinajian that

turn out to be worth $30 million.

 

As Newsday reports, that's what happened to two real estate investors,

Thomas Schultz and Lawrence Joseph, who a few years ago bought a

bungalow in Bellport, N.Y., where Pinajian had lived before his death

at age 85 in 1999, from his relatives. Schultz and Joseph paid

$300,000 for the house, which they intended at the time to flip for a

quick profit. The subsequent real estate market collapse put the

kibosh on that plan.

 

But while inspecting the house's garage, Schultz came across piles of

paintings, in addition to sketches and the artist's journals, mixed in

with trash. The sellers apologized for leaving a mess and offered to

pay for a dumpster. But Schultz was hesitant to toss out the artist's

work, and instead showed some of it to art experts. Since then, a few

of the paintings have been sold by galleries in New York and

California for $500,000 - more than the house itself was worth. An

exhibit of Pinajian's work is currently on display at the Fuller

Building in Manhattan.

 

The rediscovery of Pinajian's work has shed light on his odd and

fascinating life story. According to an article in Yerevan, the

Armenian-American magazine, Pinajian was born in 1914 to immigrant

parents who'd fled the Turkish genocide. After graduating from high

school, he became a free-lance illustrator and drew and wrote stories

for comics publishers such as Marvel. (One of his characters, Madam

Fatal, apparently was the first cross-dressing superhero.) In 1943,

his promising career was interrupted when he was drafted into the

U.S. Army. Pinajian served in the 102nd Infantry Division and earned

the Bronze Star for valor during the Battle of the Bulge (Schultz

found his medal among the rubbish).

 

Pinajian's wartime experiences apparently affected him powerfully. On

returning home, he gave up his career as an illustrator and became a

fine-art painter. He sold little of his work during his lifetime and

relied on his sister, a secretary, for financial support, according to

a 2007 New York Times article. In the 1970s, the two siblings, neither

of whom ever married, moved into the house in Bellport. `He thought he

was going to be the next Picasso,' a cousin, John Aramian, told the

Times. `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.'

 

The disillusioned artist gave his sister instructions that, upon his

death, she should throw away the 70 years worth of artwork that he'd

packed into the garage. She tried to do that, but a relative

intervened at the last moment and turned back the truck. But over

time, apparently, everyone forgot about Pinajian's collection until

after his sister's death and the house's sale, when it was

rediscovered by Schultz.

 

Before art historian William Innes Homer passed away last year, he

evaluated Pinajian's work and came to the conclusion that the painter

was 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.'

 

Here is a selection of Pinajian's work:

http://www.rediscoveredmasters.com/Collection/Show/19

[Yervant1]

ARMENIAN VINCENT VAN GOGH - LA CANADA VALLEY SUN ABOUT ARMENIAN AMERICAN PAINTER ARTHUR PINAJIAN

 

http://www.tert.am/en/news/2013/03/21/pinajian/

11:29 ~U 21.03.13

 

For decades, artist Arthur Pinajian created vivid, abstract canvases

under the cover of anonymity, painting thousands of landscapes and

figure studies in varying abstract Expressionist styles. He worked

out of a small cottage in Bellport, N.Y. that belonged to his sister

Armen - it was here Pinajian would create and store his vast collection

until his death in 1999 at age 85, La Cañada Valley Sun writes.

 

Much like Vincent Van Gogh, the Armenian American painter, who began

his career as a self-taught cartoonist in the 1930s, received little

recognition or money in his lifetime.

 

It was not until 2006, when business partners Lawrence Joseph and

Thomas Schultz bought Pinajian's former home as a real estate

investment and discovered thousands of paintings, drawings and

sketchbooks being stored there, that his talents as a painter were

brought to light.

 

"The garage floor is all dirt, at least, I think it's all dirt, but I

can't tell because most of it is stacked with paintings. There's got to

be a couple thousand of them. And there's at least a thousand more in

the attic," Schultz told Joseph, who recounted the tale of discovery

in the 2010 art book, "Pinajian: Master of Abstraction Discovered,"

edited by art historian Peter Hastings Falk.

 

Today, Pinajian's works have hung in swanky New York galleries, ranging

from several thousand dollars to half a million each. Earlier this

month, news stations across the country lined up tell the story of the

discovery of irreplaceable treasures almost marked for the trash heap.

 

An important part of maintaining and passing on Pinajian's legacy

as an artist is being done in the heart of La Cañada, in an art

gallery on Foothill Boulevard. Stephanie's Gallery, run for the past

15 years by Linda Stepanian and her husband, Sepon, was selected by

the owners of Pinajian's collection to officially represent and sell

the artist's works.

 

It started in 2010, when Joseph was referred to the gallery by a

friend. After a brief meeting, arrangements were made for Stephanie's

to sell and showcase pieces of the collection.

 

"The moment he came and we met I was ready, and he was ready to trust

me," Linda Stepanian recalls. "My clients were very excited when they

found out I was bringing a new discovery to the gallery. Pinajian's

art has a power you cannot miss."

 

Since then, Stepanian has introduced the collection to art collectors

and brokered the sale of several more to buyers worldwide. She arranges

annual showings of Pinajian's work, often alongside personal effects

that provide small clues to the man behind the mystery, in exhibitions

open to the public.

 

This year's show runs May 1-3 in the Zorayan Museum of St. Leon

Armenian Cathedral in Burbank. It begins with a reception Wednesday,

May 1, from 7 to 10 p.m. Stepanian says the space is a fitting location

for the more than 50 paintings that will be displayed there.

 

"I thought it would be nice to take him to a church where he belongs,

because there's that connection," says Stepanian, who is also Armenian

American. "We share the same background, where we came from, and the

same traditions. So for me, it's my responsibility to do the right

thing for this man. I couldn't do this when he was alive, but I can

walk in the right direction for him now."

 

The Stepanians admit that every time a news segment runs about

Pinajian's work or an exhibition is held and people hear about the

master who almost wasn't, Stephanie's gets a round of calls and emails

from all over the country.

 

"It's a very interesting story. Basically, two partners wanted to

purchase a cottage in New York, and then...." Sepon Stepanian says,

fanning out his hands over all the Pinajian paraphernalia spread out

on the desk in front of him.

[MosJan]

1890թ-ի համիդյան ջարդերից սկիզբ առած կոտորածներից մինչև 1915թ-ի Մեծ Եղեռնը, Արևմտյան Հայաստանից ԱՄՆ գաղթեցին գրեթե 100 հազար հայեր․․․
1910թ-ին Նյու Ջերսիի հայկական եկեղեցում հանդիպեցին Դիարբեքիրի ջարդերից փրկված Հակոբն ու Վարդանուշը։ Երիտասարդները սիրահարվեցին և մեկ տարի անց նույն եկեղեցում ամուսանցան։ 1914թ-ի մարտի 28-ին ծնվեց նրանց որդին․․․
Ծնողները տղային Աշոտ կոչեցին, բայց դպրոցական տարիներին նրան Արչի էին կանչում։
Հակոբը քիմմաքրման կետում բանվորություն էր անում, իսկ Վարդանուշը փորձում էր ասեղնագործությամբ օգնել գումար վաստակելու հարցում, բայց ընտանիքը աղքատության մեջ էր ապրում․․․
1920թ-ին ծնվեց նաև Աշոտի քույրը՝ Արմինեն։
Պետք է նշել անպայման, որ այդ տարիներին, այն հայերը, որոնք կարողացել էին ինչ-որ կերպ բարելավել իրենց վիճակը ԱՄՆ-ում, անպայման օգնում էին նորեկներին, ովքեր կարիքի մեջ էին․․․
Աշոտն այնքան խելացի էր, որ բաց թողեց դպրոցի վերջին դասարանները և տասներկու տարեկանում ընդունվեց միանգամից ավագ դպրոց։ Տղան նկարելու անհագ ցանկություն ուներ․ առավել՝ նրան հետաքրքրում էին կոմիքսները։ 1930թ-ին տասնվեցամյա պատանին ավարտեց դպրոցը, և ԱՄՆ-ում սկսվեց Մեծ դեպրեսիայի շրջանը․․․
Պատանուն հաջողվեց բանվորի աշխատանք գտնել Մանհեթենի գորգագործական ընկերություններից մեկում։ Ամեն օր աշխատանքից հետո նա նստում էր լաստանավն ու մարդկանց դեմքերի էսքիզներ անում։ Դեպրեսիայի շրջանն ավելի խոցեց տասնութամյա երիտասարդին, երբ 1932թ-ին ծանր հիվանդությունից մահացավ մայրը՝ Վարդանուշը։
Ի լրումն դրա, հայրն ու հորեղբայրը մնացին գործազուրկ, և ընտանիքը տեղափոխվեց ավելի փոքր բնակարան, որը չէր էլ ջեռուցվում։ Այդ շրջանում նույնիսկ գյուղացիներն էին լքում իրենց գյուղերը՝ մեծ քաղաքներում աշխատանք գտնելու ցանկությամբ, և դա պատճառ էր դարձել գործազուրկների մեծ ճամբարի առաջացմանը։ Դեպրեսիան ճնշելու լավագույն միջոց էին դարձել գինետներն ու կինոթատրոնները։
1932թ-ին Աշոտն էլ այդպիսի մի ֆիլմ նայելուց հետո, որոշեց կոմիքսներ նկարել։ Նույն տարում նա որպես ծաղրանկարիչ ընդունվեց «Նյու Յորք Դեյլի Նյուզ» ամսագրի խմբագրությունում՝ ամսագրի լուսանկարիչ Լուդ Շահբազյանի մոտ աշխատանքի։
Արդեն քսան տարեկանում Հակոբի և Վարթանուշի որդու՝ Արչի-Արթուր Փինաջյանի, անունը հայտնվում էր թերթերում և ամսագրերում՝ որպես հայտնի նկարչի։ 1936թ-ին իլյուստրատոր և անիմատոր Փինաջյանը որոշեց ակադեմիական կրթություն ստանալ, որպեսզի ավելի պահանջված դառնար։ Նա ընդունվեց Բրուկլինի Փրատ ինստիտուտ, որտեղ հաճախում էր երիտասարդ արվեստասեր ուսանողների հատուկ կուրսերին։
Հետո սկսվեց Երկրորդ աշխարհամարտը։ Փինաջյանների որդին հասցրեց մասնակցել նաև պատերազմին և ցուցաբերած արիության համար արժանացավ Բրոնզե աստղ մեդալի։
Պատերազմից հետո նա վերադարձավ խմբագրատուն և դարձավ ԱՄՆ -ում հայտնի առաջին կոմիքսների նկարիչը։
Ժամանակի հետ փոխվեցին տղայի աշխարհայաքցն ու ընկալումները․ նա սկսեց դիմանկարներ նկարել, ապա անցավ աբստրակտ էքսպրեսիոնիզմին։ 1948թ-ին նա ապրում էր քրոջ՝ Արմինի հետ, և այդ շրջանը դարձավ շրջադարձային․ գրեթե բոլոր ժանրերը փորձելով՝ նա դարձավ աբստրակտ լիրիկական բնանկարի վարպետ։ Նրա նկարներում հաճախ կրկնվում էր երկգլխանի սարի պատկերը։ Ըստ արվեստի պատմաբան Փիթեր Ֆոլկի՝ նա ամեն տեղ փորձում էր պատկերել Արարատ լեռը։
Նրա աշխատանքները կարելի է բաժանել երկու ժամանակաշրջանի՝ Վուդսթոքյան՝ մինչև 1973թ-ը, և Բելփորթյան, որտեղ նկարիչն ապրեց մինչև իր կյանքի վերջին օրը։
1999թ-ի գարնանը նա Արմինեին հանձնեց բոլոր իր նկարները, և որովհետև ինքն արդեն հիվանդ էր, քրոջը խնդրեց և նույնիսկ պահանջեց վերացնել դրանք։ 1999թ-ի օգոստոսի 18-ին Բելփորթում մահացավ Արչի-Արթուր Փինաջյանը․․․
Արմինեն պահեց եղբոր նկարները՝ որպես հիշատակ, բայց դրանք դրեց տան ձեղնահարկում։ 2005թ-ին մահացավ Արթուրի միակ հարազատը՝ Արմինը։ Արմինի տունը գնելիս, երբ բանվորներն ուղղակի քանդում էին բնակարանը, հայտնաբերվեցին նկարները․․․
Նկարների հեղինակ Արթուր Փինաջյանը մահից հետո միայն դասվեց ԱՄՆ աբստրակտ էքսպրեսիոնիստ նկարիչների բարձր դասին, և ողջ կյանքը կարիքի մեջ մնացած նկարչի նկարները գնահատվեցին միլիոնավոր դոլարներ։
Այստեղ ես զուգահեռականներ տարա Վասպուրականցի Ոստանիկ Ադոյան հետ, ով հինգ-տասը դոլարով չէր կարողանում վաճառել իր նկարները, իսկ այսօր՝ միլիոններ արժեն Արշիլ Գորկու և հանճարեղ Արթուր Փինաջյանի նկարները։
Նկարում՝ Արթուր Փինաջյան։
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