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auction under the title "Spring in the Valley" for three times above the maximum estimate. News of this auction led to the emergence of two more paintings from a private collection which were said to have been gifted to the owner by
Azadigian's family in the 1940s. One of those sold for over five times the maximum estimate. All three paintings are scenes of wooded villages in France painted during his time there in 1922-23.
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they are believed to have arrived in
Philadelphia but vanished at some point along the way to his family. To avoid a similar fate for his remaining paintings still in the family's possession, some decades later his sister donated them to his alma mater the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, but it has no record of any such paintings.
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an apartment together which allowed Manuel to better concentrate on his art. Soon after, Manuel started noticing a pain in his lower spine, which was diagnosed by a doctor as lumbago. However it continued to worsen, causing loss of appetite and weight. During this same time in 1924 he met a photographer who catered to
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as surpassing some of his own works when he saw it in exhibition. Many of
Azadigian's works sold in Paris without the buyers being aware the artist was just a young student. While in Paris he was close to his "uncle" the noted Armenian writer Ruben Vorperian, a fellow Armenian from Malatya. Azadigian
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Back in
Philadelphia, Manuel experienced a difficult period of grief and readjustment. His family home in the tenements of North Philadelphia was not conducive to his talent, and so he turned his eyes to New York City. There he sought out his distant relative, photoengraver Leo Gananian. They rented
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and told his story, which was the featured story of its
December 6, 1924 edition. Unfortunately it did not have the desired effect, and Manuel's mother requested his paintings in New York be sent to her in Philadelphia via the Jerrehian Rug Company there. The paintings never made it to her however,
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In the 2010s, a historian took up the cause of spreading awareness about
Azadigian's tragic story in hopes that paintings he might have sold during his lifetime still exist in private collections. After nearly a decade, an Azadigian surfaced at an estate sale in New York, which was later sold at
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estate to paint her portrait. For three weeks he painted through the pain, until collapsing at his easel one day in late August. Ms. Dawn had him rushed to her brother-in-law, noted New York doctor Emmett
Browning, who discovered Manuel was fatally afflicted with cancer. He was given less than a
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where he quickly became one of its best students, finishing the first year of coursework in just two months. These were very difficult times for Manuel, working odd jobs during the day while attending classes at night. He studied painting under the
Institute's principal instructor
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month to live and returned to his mother's home in
Philadelphia. Dawn halted her acting work to go there to his bedside to comfort him. He died only a few weeks later, a promising talent cut off just as his career was seeing even greater success.
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and a French article at the time wrote that while he was an unknown in Paris, he should prove to become known very quickly due to his precision and talent. During this time he painted his masterpiece "The
Russian Poet", which was hailed by
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into a moderately influential family of the village on his mother's side. Manuel demonstrated a talent for drawing from his earliest years. By the time of his birth, many of his relatives had already begun immigrating to the
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as being capable of a very successful career much like his own. Azadigian's oil painting "Still Life" was displayed and sold in 1921 at the Academy's 116th annual exhibition. He also sketched the ancient work from the
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The paintings rediscovered in the 2020s were all painted during Azadigian's time in Paris in 1922-23. Their original titles are not known, and the ones listed here were given by the auction house which sold them.
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also spent time working in Rome and Venice as well before returning to America in 1923, perhaps due to his father falling ill. He returned home to discover his father had died less than two months prior.
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324:, 1924, a recreation of Azadigian painting the actress taken after his death to illustrate her article for the Daily Graphic. Manuel's cousin Leo sat-in as the late artist.
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245:"The Three Fates" from the school's cast collection which was hailed by the school as a perfect copy. He also exhibited with the
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After his graduation from the Institute in 1921, Manuel was awarded a scholarship from New York businessman
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In the wake of Azadigian's death, Hazel Dawn sought to tell his story to the world. She contacted the
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and film stars. Through this contact he was introduced to the famous actress
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Dawn, Hazel (December 6, 1924). "I Want to Paint a Beautiful Soul".
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until it was shut down in 1951, at which point they were moved to
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Manuel was originally buried with his father in Philadelphia's
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After a few years of working, Azadigian was accepted to the
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for a better life and to escape persecution they faced as
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Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to the United States
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182:(October 15, 1901 – September 17, 1924) was an
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569:Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts alumni
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450:Spring in the Valley by Manuel Azadigian
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322:The Unfinished Portrait of Hazel Dawn
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529:American people of Armenian descent
416:"Fontaine de l'Observatoire, Paris"
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291:Budding success and abrupt death
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544:20th-century American painters
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253:, portraits, and landscapes.
194:Manuel Azadigian was born in
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139:"The Russian Poet" (1921–22)
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559:American modern painters
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135:Notable work
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81:(1924-09-17)
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514:1924 deaths
509:1901 births
354:Rediscovery
102:Nationality
503:Categories
422:References
306:Amityville
302:Hazel Dawn
251:still life
190:Early life
152:Still Life
49:1901-10-15
243:Parthenon
223:Education
209:Armenians
186:painter.
163:Patron(s)
148:Portraits
112:Education
298:Broadway
144:Movement
129:Painting
107:American
105:Armenian
363:Gallery
198:in the
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57:Malatya
313:Legacy
67:Turkey
461:Notes
65:(now
76:Died
43:Born
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