Akop Gurdjan After (1881-1948) Sitting Baboon Bronze

Akop Gurdjan (1881-1948) Akop Gurdjan (also Hakob Gyurjyan) was born in Shusha (Nagorno-Karabakh). In 1907-1910, he studied at the Académie Julian in Paris and also worked in Rodin's studio. From 1908, he participated in exhibitions organized by the National Association of Fine Arts of Paris. Between 1914 and 1921, he worked in Moscow (Vladimir Lenin being present at the inauguration of a monument created by Akop Gurdjan). From 1921 he lived again in Paris and obtained French citizenship. A prolific sculptor, he covers a wide range of subjects, but is best known for creating over 300 portrait busts (Sergei Rachmaninoff, Ludwig van Beethoven) His works have been exhibited in Tokyo, Oslo, Moscow and many other cities . During his life he had solo exhibitions in New York and Paris. In 1948 he died in Paris at the age of 67. As stipulated in Gurdjan's will, in 1958 his widow bequeathed 400 works and his archives to Yeravan, the capital of Armenia. In 1959, a retrospective exhibition was organized at the State Gallery of Armenia (now the National Gallery of Armenia). The Center Pompidou in Paris has a work by Akop Gurdjan in its collection. Seated Baboon Bronze cast of a seated baboon, head slightly elevated holding one knee, by Akop Gurdjan (1881-1948). Posthumous cast of brown patina with some green and reddish highlights. Signed A. Gurdjan. A black marble version of this statue was sold at auction by Artcurial on December 1, 2009 under lot number 55.