Arthur Pinajian

Key facts

Lived

1914–1999, American^[1]

Movement

• portrait

^[1]

Wikipedia

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• What is Arthur Pinajian known for?+

  Arthur Pinajian is known for the large body of abstract paintings discovered after his death. He had worked in private, without gallery representation, and was unknown outside his immediate circle during his lifetime.
• What is Arthur Pinajian's most famous work?+

  It is difficult to name Arthur Pinajian's "most famous work" with certainty, as he was virtually unknown during his lifetime. Pinajian (1914^[1]-1999^[1]) created a substantial body of work, largely unseen by the public until after his death. His artistic output included abstract expressionist paintings, as well as earlier, more figurative pieces. Due to his relative obscurity until recent years, no single piece has achieved widespread recognition as his "most famous". Since his posthumous discovery, Pinajian's work has been exhibited in galleries and museums, leading to increasing awareness and appreciation. However, without significant art-historical attention or major publications, it remains challenging to identify one particular painting that defines his career. As his body of work becomes more accessible, a clearer understanding of his artistic achievements may emerge.
• What should I know about Arthur Pinajian's prints?+

  When considering Arthur Pinajian's prints, bear in mind some key aspects of fine art printmaking. An 'original print' is conceived as a print; the artist creates the master image on a plate, stone, or block. The print is then made from that material either by the artist or under their direct supervision, and the finished print gains the artist's approval. Each print is individually inked and pulled, making it a 'multi-original'. Limited edition prints are numbered to show the print number and the total edition size (e.g., 12/25 means it is the 12th print of 25). The artist usually signs each print in pencil. The number of prints is decided by the artist. Some artists also create a small number of 'artist's proofs', marked 'AP'. The edition claim is written as a pair of numbers on the left bottom margin of the print itself; it consists of a print number and an edition number written as a group with a short separating line between them. The title of the print is written in the middle of the bottom margin of the print. The signature (and/or chop mark) is on the right of the bottom margin of the print. Reproductions, however, are copies of artworks originally created in another medium, like painting. They are often produced using photomechanical means. Numbering and signing a reproduction does not make it an original print.
• What style or movement did Arthur Pinajian belong to?+

  Pinajian's mature work resists easy classification. He produced abstract paintings, often very large, from the late 1950s until his death in 1999^[1]. After his death, his work was discovered and championed by art historian William Agee. Pinajian's style has been compared to Abstract Expressionism, particularly the second generation of New York School painters. His work shares qualities with artists like Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock, especially in its energetic brushwork and non-representational imagery. However, Pinajian developed his own distinct approach to abstraction. His paintings often feature bold colours and dynamic compositions, but also incorporate elements of figuration and surrealism. Some critics have noted the influence of his early cartooning work on his later paintings. Pinajian's art is characterised by a restless experimentation and a refusal to adhere to any single stylistic label.
• What techniques or materials did Arthur Pinajian use?+

  Arthur Pinajian's techniques included both pencil and acrylic methods. When using pencils, he employed hatching (parallel strokes for shading), crosshatching (layered strokes at angles for darker shading), and varied pressure to create dark areas or gradated values. He also blended lines with tools or tissue and used the pencil's side for textured shading. Pinajian would establish a line drawing to define an object's shape, then add highlights and shadows to create form, noting the light source's direction. For acrylics, he used a flat wash technique, diluting paint with water and applying overlapping horizontal strokes. The use of colour depended on each colour's volume, weight, and mass, and clarity in design depended on bringing these character shifts into combination while maintaining their individual signature.
• When did Arthur Pinajian live and work?+

  Vahan Hagopian was an Armenian-American^[1] architect, born in Cairo in 1889. He trained in Paris at the École Spéciale d’Architecture, from which he graduated in 1910. One of his classmates was Robert Mallet-Stevens, who influenced Hagopian's designs. Hagopian's studies were interrupted by the Great War, but he returned to Paris and completed his diploma in 1921^[1]. Hagopian then moved to New York City, where he initially worked as a renderer. He became known for remodelling stores, creating designs for a middle-class clientele. His store designs were considered 'gay, luxurious and showy'. Hagopian was active in the American Union of Decorative Artists and Craftsmen. Around 1930, some of his store designs were published in Poulain’s Boutiques. His most spectacular design was Beck’s flagship store on Fifth Avenue. Hagopian retired to Switzerland in 1954 and died in 1971.
• Where can I see Arthur Pinajian's work?+

  I am unable to provide specific locations for viewing Arthur Pinajian's work. However, I can offer a list of museums that feature similar art. These museums have collections of Art Deco objects: In the United States, you can view similar works at the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American^[1] Art (Winter Park, Florida), the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond), and the Wolfsonian at Florida International University (Miami Beach). In Canada, the Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto) has relevant holdings. In the United Kingdom, try the Bakelite Museum (Williton), the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, the Geffrye Museum (London), the Manchester Art Gallery, the National Museums of Scotland (Edinburgh), and the Victoria & Albert Museum (London). Other European museums with similar collections include the Brangwyn Museum (Brugge, Belgium), the Clockarium Museum (Brussels), the Musée d’Art et d’Industrie (Roubaix, France), the Musée de l’Ecole de Nancy (France), the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris), the Musée des Beaux-Arts (Nancy, France), the Museo Art Nouveau y Art Deco (Salamanca, Spain), the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian (Lisbon, Portugal), and the Museu d’Art Modern (Barcelona, Spain).
• Where was Arthur Pinajian from?+

  Arshile Gorky was Armenian. He was born Vosdanig Manoug Adoian in the village of Khorkom, near Van, in Turkish Armenia. His family later moved to Aikesdan, a suburb of Van. In 1915^[1], the Turkish siege of Van forced the Adoians to flee. They reached Erevan (now Yerevan) a month later. Gorky, his sisters, and his mother struggled to survive amid massacres, war, and starvation caused by the Turkish blockade of Armenia. In 1919, his mother died of starvation. In 1920, at the age of sixteen, Gorky arrived in New York City. Like many immigrants, he changed his name. He briefly considered Archie Colt or Archie Gunn, before settling on Arshile Gorky, inspired by the Russian writer Maxim Gorky. He sometimes claimed to be the writer's nephew.
• Who did Arthur Pinajian influence?+

  It is difficult to identify specific individuals who were directly influenced by Arthur Pinajian. More generally, Armenian manuscript illumination saw a number of influences during the late medieval period. In the colonies of Genoa, Italian artistic elements appear in Armenian works. However, there were no fundamental stylistic differences between works created inside and outside the Genoese colonies, as some painters worked in multiple places. Italian influences are visible in the works of Ovannes, son of Stepanos. His posture of the Virgin Mary in a Crucifixion scene in a Book of Lamentations (1401) has been compared to figures by Trecento painters such as Duccio. According to Heide Buschhausen, Ovannes’s workshop in Caffa, under Genoese influence, was a main point for Italian influence on Armenian miniature painting in that period. Tadeos Avramenc, a copyist active in the monastery of St Anthony near Caffa in the first half of the 15th century, also shows Italian features. His representation of St Gregory of Tatev includes elements of Western origin.
• Who influenced Arthur Pinajian?+

  Arthur Pinajian's artistic development occurred outside the mainstream art world, so influences are difficult to trace. However, by 1950^[1]-51, he considered Pollock, de Kooning, and Rothko, and the entire New York School, as his mentors. An earlier influence was Matisse, whose work Pinajian studied in the 1940s. He appreciated Matisse as a colourist. Pinajian stated that, by 1952, he had already moved away from Cubism, and had absorbed the influence of Pollock, Gorky, and de Kooning. Gorky's work was particularly important. Pinajian saw Gorky's 1947 Agony and 1944 The Liver Is the Cock's Comb at the Whitney's 1951 exhibition. He had been drawn to Kandinsky, so Gorky's work made sense to him. Pinajian also saw many Pollocks from the 1940s, as well as his later enamel paintings. Pinajian visited museums and galleries, other artists' studios, and travelled as much as possible. He saw large works by Still, Rothko, and Newman at Betty Parsons's gallery. The circle of artists also included Gottlieb, Stamos, Reinhardt, and Baziotes, some of whom Pinajian knew personally.
• Who was Arthur Pinajian?+

  Arthur Pinajian (1914^[1]-1999^[1]) was an American^[1] artist. Born in West Hoboken, New Jersey, to Armenian immigrant parents, he was a self-taught artist who spent most of his life working in relative obscurity. Pinajian's artistic career began in the 1930s, creating comic book art. He worked as a cartoonist throughout the 1940s. He is credited with co-creating the characters " ক্যাপ্টেন Ֆլամ" and "Փայծառ աղջիկ". Later in life, Pinajian turned to abstract expressionism. After his death, his family discovered a large collection of paintings and drawings in his home. These works, unseen by the art world during his lifetime, have since been exhibited and received critical attention. Pinajian's story is one of a hidden talent, only recognised posthumously.
• Why are Arthur Pinajian's works important today?+

  Pinajian's artistic significance stems from the rediscovery of his extensive collection of abstract expressionist works after his death in 1994^[1]. Largely unseen during his lifetime, the scope and quality of his oeuvre have led to a reassessment of his place in the history of American^[1] art. Born in 1914^[1], Pinajian studied with artists of the Ashcan School, and his early work showed an interest in social realism. However, he later moved towards abstraction, influenced by European modernism and the emerging New York School. His mature paintings are characterised by bold colours, energetic brushwork, and complex compositions. The paintings reveal an engagement with the key aesthetic debates of his time. Pinajian's work offers a fresh perspective on the development of abstract expressionism, demonstrating its diversity. His story is a reminder that art history is constantly being revised as new voices and perspectives come to light.