Sarkis Sarkisian

An Oversized Floral Still Life, Oil on Canvas, Sarkis Sarkisian 1909-1977

1960s

Sarkis Sarkisian was a painter and teacher, who spent most of his career in Detroit, Michigan, and later said: "Detroit has give me everything. I was an immigrant kid, who came here at 13". (Detroit News) He emigrated there with his Armenian family from Smyma, Turkey in 1922. From a young age, he showed art interest and talent. Sarkisian studied under John Wicker at the Wicker School of Fine Arts, and with John Carroll at the Art School of the Detroit Society of Arts Crafts where Sarkisian was hired as an assistant instructor of drawing and design in 1933. He became a full instructor in 1934, and was named Director in 1947. In addition, he taught classes for the Birmingham Society of Women Painters 1945-54. As a teacher, "Sarkisian spelled out his own philosophy of painting: 'The only way to be an artist is to know you have to train yourself. Otherwise all you can do is imitate. Experience should come first. Then influence can be absorbed intelligently. Sure, Picasso based his Blue Period on El Greco. But Picasso translated what he picked up into his own way of thinking. That's why he's an innovator, not an imitator.' " (Detroit News) As a special influence, he gave special credit to John Wicker, one of his first teachers, who in turn had special admiration for Matisse and his handling of line, space, and patterns. Sarkis was juried into art exhibitions across the nation during his lifetime including the Annual Exhibition of Michigan Artists at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Annual Exhibitions of American Painters and Sculptors at the Art Institute of Chicago, First Annual Show of Contemporary Art at the Richmond Museum of Art, Society of Independent Artists, Paintings from 16 American Cities at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Scarab Club of Detroit, Biennial Exhibition of American Art at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Biennial Exhibitions of American Oil Paintings at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., National Exhibition of American Art at Rockefeller Center in New York, Annual Exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, among many others.