Metropolitan Museum of Art revises information on Aivazovsky to reflect his Armenian heritage

The world-renowned Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has revised the way it identifies famous seascape painter Ivan Aivazovsky to reflect his Armenian heritage, following complaints from community members, Asbarez reported..

Along with many community members, Taleen Setrakian also chronicled her efforts to address the mis-characterization of not only Aivazovsky’s heritage but also that of Arshile Gorky, who is listed as an “American, born Van Province, Ottoman Turkey,” on the website of New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

The Met told Setrakian in an email shared with Asbarez that it was “undertaking a review” of how Aivazovsky was identified.

“We are currently undertaking additional revisions to our cataloguing of Ivan Aivazovsky, in order to ensure that his Armenian identity is duly recognized on our website,” the Met’s European Paintings Department said in an email in response to Setrakian’s inquiry regarding Aivazovsky’s misidentification.

“The Met regularly researches and examines objects in its collection in order to determine the most appropriate and accurate way to catalogue and present them. This includes the best way the complex national and cultural identities in this region during the nineteenth century,” the Met explained.

Originally, the Met had identified Aivazovsky as Ukrainian, including in the biographical notes that he was “born into an Armenian family.”

In the revised iteration, the Met has added his Armenian birth name next to his professional name and has amended the “Ukrainian” moniker with “Armenian, born Russian Empire [now Ukraine].”

In his biography, the Met has also emphasized Aivazovsky’s Armenian heritage by writing, “As a member of the city’s longstanding Armenian community, Aivazovsky had a rich cultural and linguistic background. He worked and exhibited widely, including in cities in present-day Armenia, Georgia, Italy, Russia, Turkey, and mainland Ukraine.”