Michael Zakian (April 7, 1957 – January 14, 2020) was an American art historian and museum curator. He was the director of the Frederick R. Weisman Museum in

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...

for 25 years until his death in 2020. His academic research focused on

abstract expressionism Abstract expressionism in the United States emerged as a distinct art movement in the aftermath of World War II and gained mainstream acceptance in the 1950s, a shift from the American social realism of the 1930s influenced by the Great Depressi ...

Early life and education

Michael Zakian was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1957. As a child, he visited museums, including the

Guggenheim Museum The Guggenheim Museums are a group of museums in different parts of the world established (or proposed to be established) by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Museums in this group include: * The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, Ne ...

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, and the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

. These visits instilled Zakian's interest in the visual arts. He attended

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and earned his bachelor's degree in art history. Next, he earned his master's degree and doctorate, while serving as a teaching assistant, in art history from

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

. His focus was

Career

In 1995, Zakian became the director of the Frederick R. Weisman Museum at

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...

. He also was an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University's Seaver College.

Later life and legacy

Zakian died in January 2020. Zakian's papers are held in the collection of Pepperdine University.

References

External links

"Pepperdine Mourns the Loss of Weisman Museum Director Michael Zakian"
from Pepperdine University
"Michael Zakian on Richard Diebenkorn: Beginnings, 1942–1955"
from the Richard Diebenkorn Foundation {{DEFAULTSORT:Zakian, Michael 1957 births 2020 deaths 21st-century American historians 20th-century American historians Deaths from pancreatic cancer in the United States American art historians Historians from California Historians from New York (state) Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Rutgers University alumni Directors of museums in the United States Pepperdine University faculty Historians from New York City Curators from New York City