Hovsep Pushman

Hovshep Pushman was an award-winning American-Armenian artist renowned for his still-life paintings and exotic portraits, who enjoyed huge success in his own lifetime.

Pushman was born and raised in Armenia, during the time of the Ottoman Empire. His talent was evident even as a child and he won a scholarship to study at the Constantinople Academy of Art aged just 11 – the youngest student to do so.

Political pressures forced the family to emigrate to the United States in 1896, where they settled in Chicago. Pushman continued his studies at the Smith Academy there and also in Paris at the Academy Julian, where he remained for several years before returning to the US. He began teaching, while also studying oriental art, a subject which fascinated him and dominated his work. 

In his art, he took a variety of objects, ranging from glass pitchers and pieces of pottery to intricately detailed teakwood boxes, set against aesthetically delightful backgrounds of tapestries and textiles, while shrouding them in a sublime, dusky glow that evoked an ambience of oriental mysticism. Other work included figurative portraits of Far Eastern legends, all exquisitely created with technical brilliance. He often created poems to accompany his art.

Pushman began holding annual shows at the Grand Central Art Galleries in New York in the late 1920s which significantly raised his profile and continued until his death in 1966. His work became highly sought after by eminent collectors and museums internationally, and was exhibited extensively.