Martiros Saryan's Welcome Speech

Martiros Saryan was born in New Nakhichevan (present day - Rostov on Don, Russia). In 1895 finished local general education school, in 1904 finished Painting Department of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. In 1901 went to the Caucasus, visited Yerevan, Ashtarak, Vagharshapat, Sevan, Ani. From 1904 to 1909 he created new modern art called “Saryanakan”. His paintings “Wisterias”, “Fruit shop”, “Street in Constantinople” were first purchased by the Moscow Tretyakov Gallery. During the Armenian Genocide in 1915 Saryan worked at the Moscow Committee for Aid to Armenians, went to Echmiadzin and devoted himself to the work of saving the Armenian refugees. Martiros Saryan and Vardges Surenyants are the authors of the artistic design of Valery Bryusov's collection "Armenian Poetry" (1916, Moscow). In 1919 he founded provincial museum in New Nakhichevan, in 1921 moved to Yerevan and was appointed head of the newly created State Museum of Armenia, participated in the creation of the Yerevan Art School, together with Hakob Kojoyan created the coat of arms of the Armenian SSR. From 1926 – 1928 he worked and lived in Paris. In 1928 Martiros Saryan’s personal exhibition was opened in Gerard Hall of Paris. At the World Exhibition in Paris in 1937 he was awarded with Grand Prix and in 1961 for the series of paintings "My Motherland" (1952-1958), he received the Lenin Prize of the USSR. Created portraits, landscapes, panels, still lives, designed books, also the curtain of Yerevan State Academic Theatre after G. Sundukyan. Martiros Saryan created a huge gallery with about 3,000 works raising the national art to the international level. He had personal exhibitions in Paris, Moscow, Tbilisi, Leningrad and in other cities. He was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, in 1958 was awarded with Gold medal of the Brussels International Exhibition, in 1965 received State Prize of Armenia. Martiros Saryan is the founder of national school of modern Armenian painting, Academic of USSR Academy of Arts (1947), Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1956). Saryan’s works are exhibited at the National Gallery of Armenia, Tretyakov Gallery of Moscow, different museums, in private collections in the USA, in France and in other countries. In 1926 Martiros Saryan received People’s Painter of Armenia title in 1926, in 1960 - People’s Painter of USSR. Died in Yerevan.