Arman Tateos Manookian (; May 15, 1904 – May 10, 1931), born as Tateos Manookian, was an Ottoman Empire-born Armenian and American painter, printmaker, and illustrator, best known for his works depicting Hawaiian scenes. He lived in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

for the last years of his life.

Early life

Arman Tateos Manookian was the oldest of three children born to a

Armenian Christian The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic Church, belongs to the Arme ...

family in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

(now

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, Turkey). As a teenager, he survived the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

. Manookian immigrated to the United States in 1920. At the age of 16 he studied illustration at the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

. Later he took classes at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

, before enlisting in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

in 1923.

Career

While serving in the

he was assigned as a clerk to the author and historian, Major

Edwin North McClellan Edwin North McClellan (December 5, 1881 – July 25, 1971) was a United States Marine Corps officer, author, and historian. He was the first director of the Historical Section of Headquarters Marine Corps, a historigraphical organization now kno ...

. While in the Marines, Manookian had supplied illustrations for Leatherneck Magazine, and produced about 75 ink drawings for McClellan's history of the United States Marine Corps, which was never published. These drawings are now in the collection of the

Honolulu Museum of Art The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. It has one of the largest single co ...

. In 1927, Manookian was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps, but remained in Hawaii. He worked for the

Honolulu Star-Bulletin The ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii (after the ''Honol ...

and for '' Paradise of the Pacific''. Manookian's artwork was best known for its romantic and idealized illustrations and paintings of Hawaiian landscapes, and of ancient Hawaiian culture. His portraits often featured a focus on overtly masculine bodies. Manookian's last known artwork made was a three panel mural of flamingos for a private residency in Halekou Heights in

Kaneohe, Hawaii Kāneohe () is a census-designated place (CDP) included in the City and County of Honolulu and in Hawaii state District of Koolaupoko on the island of Oahu. In the Hawaiian language, ''kāne ohe'' means "bamboo man". According to an ancient ...

. The

Bishop Museum The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawaii State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. Founded in 1 ...

and the

are among the public collections holding works by Manookian. According to the State of Hawaii's House of Representatives, he is "known as Hawaii's Van Gogh". Only thirty-one of his oil paintings are known to exist, as of 2011.

Death and legacy

He ended his life committing suicide on May 10, 1931, using poison at a party, because of his severe depression. His oil paintings are rare and highly valued based on their almost iconic status and scarcity due to his early death. The Honolulu Academy of Arts (now Honolulu Museum of Art) held a memorial exhibition shortly after Manookian's death in August 1931. Honolulu Museum of Art held a retrospective exhibition titled ''Meaning in Color/Expression in Line: Arman Manookian’s Modernism'', from late 2010 through early 2011. In July 2010, a group of seven paintings owned by the Hotel Hana-Maui were removed from public display, they were originally thought to be Manookian's painting but some of them may have been copies by artist Larry Mayo. Two of the murals, ''Red Sails'' and ''Hawaiian Boy and Girl'', are now on long-term loan to the

.The Other Armenian: Arman Manookian's Short Life, and His Art
/ref> From July 3, 2014, to January 11, 2015, a number of Manookian paintings were on display at the

including ''Red Sails,'' ''Hawaiian Boy and Girl,'' ''Breadfruit,'' ''Pele,'' and ''Weaver.''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manookian, Arman Tateos 1904 births 1931 deaths 1931 suicides 20th-century American painters 20th-century American male artists 20th-century Armenian artists American male painters American muralists American people of Armenian descent Artists who died by suicide Armenian emigrants to the United States Armenian genocide survivors Armenian painters Armenian portrait painters Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Art Students League of New York alumni Drug-related suicides in Hawaii Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to the United States Painters from Hawaii Painters from Istanbul Rhode Island School of Design alumni Suicides by poison United States Marines

Early life

Career

Death and legacy

References

Further reading

External links