Hovsep Pushman

b. 1877 — d. 1966

Hovsep Pushman was an American artist of Armenian background. He was known for his contemplative still lifes and sensitive portraits of women, often in exotic dress. He was most closely associated during his lifetime with the Grand Central Art Galleries, which represented him from its opening in 1922 until his death in 1966. Hovsep Pushman was born and grew up in the town of Dikranagerd in Asia Minor, where his family, originally "Pushmanian," was in the carpet business. Pushman showed artistic ability early, and at age 11 was the youngest student ever admitted to Istanbul's Imperial School of Fine Arts. In 1896, Pushman's family emigrated to Chicago, where he studied Chinese culture, immersing himself in Asian art, and began to teach at the age of 17. He then moved to Paris and studied at the Académie Julian under Jules Joseph Lefebvre, Tony Robert-Fleury and Adolphe Déchenaud. Pushman exhibited his work at the Salon des Artistes Français, where he won medals in 1914 and 1921. Pushman returned to the United States in 1914, and in 1916 moved to Riverside, California, living at the city's Mission Inn until 1919. There he accepted some portrait commissions, including one that still hangs at the inn. In 1918 Pushman and a group of California painters founded the Laguna Beach Art Association; the same year he was awarded the California Art Club's Ackerman Prize. After his time in California Pushman spent several years in Paris. In 1932, Pushman was honored with a one-man show at the Galleries. Sixteen paintings were on display and all sold the opening day. The prices ranged from $3,500 up to $10,000 (the equivalent of more than $150,000 in 2009). The same year his painting "The Daughter of the Sheykh," which had won a silver medal in Paris in 1921, was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The winner of the 1936 art drawing at the Grand Central Art Galleries, Walter S. Gifford of AT&T, selected a Pushman still life of a Chinese statuette. In 1958 the Grand Central Art Galleries, which had been Pushman's home since they opened in 1923, were forced out of the Grand Central Terminal. Eighty-one-year-old Pushman was present at the final reception at the Galleries' Terminal location, which was attended by more than 400 people. Pushman died on February 13, 1966, in New York City. Three months later, Hulia Shaljian Pushman, his widow, followed him.