By Elias Trout
WATERTOWN — Following the donation of Ruben Amirian’s “Homage to Mesrop Mashtots,” a 14-foot composite work celebrating the Armenian alphabet, art collector and Museum Trustee Joan Agajanian Quinn has gifted two watercolors by literary genius William Saroyan and two drawings from his son Aram Saroyan to the Armenian Museum of America. All five works are now on display in the new exhibit “My Name Is Saroyan,” inspired by Armenian literary culture both past and present.
“After the success of our 2022 exhibition ‘On the Edge: Los Angeles Art 1970s-1990s from the Joan and Jack Quinn Family Collection’ at the Armenian Museum, the Quinn family is happy to broaden the Museum’s collection of contemporary artists with these donations,” explains Quinn. “We continue to be impressed with the way the Museum displays Armenian art which spans the time frame from ancient to modern times. The contemporary exhibits on the third floor have been professionally and artistically compared to the top museums in the country.”
Quinn is the co-host of “Beverly Hills View” and has been the producer and host of the “Joan Quinn Profiles” for more than 35 years. The Los Angeles native was West Coast Editor of Andy Warhol’s “Interview,” Society Editor of the “Los Angeles Herald Examiner,” and the founding West Coast Editor of “Condé Nast Traveler.”
The Quinns have loaned art to museums all over the world, including the Louvre, MoMA, LACMA, Museum of Arts and Design, Bakersfield Museum of Art, Fresno Art Museum, Hammer Museum, and the Huntington Art Museum. Part of the extensive Quinn family collection was loaned to the Armenian Museum for the exhibits “On the Edge” and “Discovering Takouhi: Portraits of Joan Agajanian Quinn,” which showcases contemporary Armenian artists.
“There’s a long tradition of contemporary exhibitions here at the Armenian Museum and the last few shows have taken things to new heights,” says Executive Director Jason Sohigian. “’On the Edge’ was very well received, and we opened a new exhibition, ‘Ara Oshagan: Disrupted, Borders,’ that fits perfectly with our permanent collection, from manuscripts to diaspora and cultural identity, and even Artsakh with the installation of the ‘Shushi Portraits’ series. On top of this, the new exhibition of four Saroyan works adds more excitement to the Adele and Haig Der Manuelian Galleries.”
