Big Name Photographer Comes to Small Town Museum

As a major American city and historic center of American politics, history, and art, Boston has always counted important world figures among its visitors. This fall, however, 25 of the 20th century’s most influential figures plan to make an appearance just beyond the city limits for the grand reopening of a small Watertown museum.

Perhaps one of Watertown’s best-kept secrets, the Armenian Library and Museum of America (ALMA) is celebrating the unveiling of a permanent collection of 25 original signed portraits by renowned Canadian-Armenian photographer Yousuf Karsh. Although Karsh’s photographs spanned a range of genres, it was his portrait photographs that brought him international fame and recognition. Following the publication of his now iconic portrait of Winston Churchill, British prime minister during World War II in LIFE Magazine, Karsh went on to shoot portraits of the some of the most well known figures of the 20th century, including Albert Einstein, Mother Teresa, and Ernest Hemmingway.

The upcoming ALMA exhibition “Karsh: Celebrating Humanity” will open on September 17. All of the featured portraits were donated to ALMA by Karsh’s widow, Estrellita Karsh. The unveiling of this exhibition coincides with the completion of ALMA’s two and a half month-long renovation, which was an effort to improve the quality of the facilities in light of such an important acquisition. Though Karsh’s photographs will now play a prominent role in the museum, regular visitors will still be able to find the Armenian artifacts that they are used to seeing. “The hope is that by re-facing  [the museum] we’ll have people coming in to see the Karsh photographs who will [then] be able to see a sampling of the Armenian artifacts,” says Daniel K. Dorian, a member of the Board of Trustees. “We’re hoping to increase the foot traffic so that people get an opportunity to see some of these things.”

ALMA’s artifacts include a vast collection of Armenian coins, carpets, ceramics, laces, manuscripts, and religious objects, as well as an extensive library of titles pertaining to Armenian culture. Since ALMA’s founding in 1971, when it first displayed its artifacts in the basement of a Belmont church, the collection has grown in both quantity and quality. Despite its move to a larger space in the early 90s, ALMA can still only display 3% of the its collection at any given time.

This substantial growth stems partially from private donations made by survivors of the Armenian Genocide. However, the museum’s collection spans a much greater portion of Armenian history, which has witnessed repeated episodes of conflict and warfare. “Armenian history is replete [with] Armenia being the battleground between eastern and western empires … and somehow,  [the Armenian people] came up with a multifarious culture that staggers the imagination,” says Haig Der Manuelian, chairman of ALMA’s board of trustees.

Despite the rich history behind its artifacts, ALMA still remains relatively unknown to the residents in the greater Boston area. ”A lot of people don’t know about it,” says board member Robert Megerdichian. “What [ALMA] need[s] is people to get the word out and the hope is that this exhibit will do that.”

—Staff writer John P. Aloian can be reached at jaloian@college.harvard.edu.