Joan Agajanian Quinn Donates Paintings by Ruben Amirian to AMA Collection

Two canvases from Ruben Amirian’s 38-part series, “Homage to Mesrop Mashtots,” which was donated to the Armenian Museum of America by Joan Agajanian Quinn in 2023.

Joan Agajanian Quinn recently announced that she is donating a series of paintings by Ruben Amirian to the collection of the Armenian Museum of America. “Homage to Mesrop Mashtots” contains 38 separate abstract paintings representing the letters of the Armenian alphabet. Each canvas is 12.5 by 16.5 inches. Assembled altogether, the series extends to an impressive 12 feet wide by four feet high. One of Ruben’s paintings is included in the “Discovering Takouhi” exhibition of Armenian artists, which will be on display through Spring 2023.

“Our family is honored and excited about the exhibitions at the Museum. As a Trustee, I am proud of the way the Museum offers Armenian art that spans from ancient times to medieval, and all the way to the modern era,” explains Quinn. “My hope was to attract more interest in the galleries and to offer something new to show from our family’s collection, which has not been widely seen or exhibited. I am also happy to expand the Museum’s collection of modern artists with this gift.”

Ruben Amirian left Iran in 1962 for the US to continue his education, earning a bachelor’s degree in Architecture and a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from Howard University. Ruben pursued his love of art by taking courses in drawing and art history. The National Gallery of Art, Corcoran Gallery, and other galleries became a second home where he was introduced to works by Richard Diebenkorn, Philip Guston, Edward Hopper, and others. He maintains a studio practice in Glendale.

Joan Agajanian Quinn and Artist Ruben Amirian in 2022.

The Most Popular Videos from "Treasures from Our Collection" Series

This month we are celebrating the two-year anniversary of the “Treasures from Our Collection” video series. In 2020, Museum President Michele Kolligian had an idea to produce videos with our Collections Curator about objects in our collection that are not currently on display.

This allows us to share our artifacts virtually with people all over the world,and gives Gary Lind-Sinanian the chance to tell the stories of many of the objects that were donated to the Museum during his tenure.  
 
More than 100 of these videos have already been shared via email and social media, and they are archived on our YouTube Channel under “playlists.” One of the most popular videos is about a giant cooking pot and the other is about village dioramas in our collection.  
 
“Treasures from Our Collection is supported by a leadership donation from Ms. Kolligian, who is the President of the Board of Trustees, for which we are grateful,” says Executive Director Jason Sohigian. “We have feedback on the series from all over the world including scholars, people studying village histories, textiles. As Gary describes it, these objects tell the story of the culture and the social history of the Armenians.”  

Members Christmas Reception & Gallery Stroll

A special thanks to everyone who attended our first annual Members Christmas Reception and Gallery Stroll. It was exciting to show off our three floors of gallery space and offer a few surprises throughout the evening including Christmas caroling by the Homenetmen Scouts. 

During the event, Museum Trustee Charles Hajinian presented a delicate hand-knitted angora shawl to Museum President Michele Kolligian. The shawl was actually worn by Michele's grandmother Araxie Soursourian Kolligian on her wedding day, which happened to fall on the same day as this event but in 1914. Michele accepted the gift and made a wonderful announcement that she is going to donate the shawl to our textile collection. Stay tuned for more details about this story, and a temporary exhibit of the piece in our Family Case in 2023!

Become a Member of the Armenian Museum of America

This summer we hosted a book launch and conversation between New York Times bestselling author Chris Bohjalian and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Stephen Kurkjian

Dear Friend,

There is no better time to be a Member of the Armenian Museum of America. Our exhibitions and programming, both online and in-person, have taken the Museum to new heights. We hope this is a source of pride for you as much as it is for us. A few examples:

  • A book launch for New York Times best-selling author Chris Bohjalian

  • Online programming including concerts and videos with our Curator

  • Iconic portraits by Yousuf Karsh, a captivating visual narrative of the Armenian Genocide, and so much more

Harvard magazine recognized its importance in a recent feature-length article: “The Armenian Museum is a powerful experience for visitors. It’s a testament not only to the layered ancient world, but to a peoples’ resilient drive to survive and flourish.”

We have now opened our largest contemporary exhibit in 50 years, On the Edge: Los Angeles Art 1970s–1990s from the Joan and Jack Quinn Family Collection, which features more than 75 works by leading artists such as John Altoon, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Charles Garabedian, Frank Gehry, David Hockney, and Ed Ruscha.

WBUR called the show one of the top five things to do in Boston! We had a wonderful review in the Boston Globe by Pulitzer Prize-winning arts writer and critic Mark Feeney, and it has been covered by WGBH’s Emmy award-winning arts editor Jared Bowen.

The Armenian Museum of America is an influential national organization with members in 37 states! We have one of the largest collections of Armenian artifacts in the Diaspora and we host visitors every week from all over the country and all over the world in our three floors of gallery space.

Our Mission is more important now than ever, especially as Armenians are facing ethnic cleansing and cultural erasure in Artsakh. This is YOUR museum, so please respond with your membership commitment today.

Respectfully yours,

Jason Sohigian
Executive Director

California Dreaming in Boston with GBH’s Jared Bowen

GBH Arts Editor Jared Bown reviewed our current exhibit and said, "On the Edge: Los Angeles Art 1970s-1990s tells the story of how California artists adopted a maverick streak in the 1970s. They broke out of what was the norm in the art hotbeds of New York and Europe. Unlike artists in those places, the California artists played with light. Fortunately, they had friends and collectors like the Quinns to fuel this innovation." If you have not yet had a chance to see this exhibit, we encourage you to do so since it will be on view now through Nov. 30. Our galleries in Watertown (Boston) are open Thursday thru Sunday from 12-6.

Jared Bowen is the Emmy award-winning host of the weekly television series, Open Studio with Jared Bowen, which takes viewers inside the creative process, offering a blend of profiles, performances, and contemporary exhibitions by artists in Greater Boston, New England, and across the country. 

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