100th anniversary of Yousuf Karsh celebrated by exhibition in Rhode Island

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Museum of Art presents two complementary exhibitions from February 27 to August 23 which highlight portraits of artists. Yousuf Karsh: Portraits of Artists and Facing Artists: Twentieth Century Portraits from the Collection will showcase the work of the photographer Yousuf Karsh and other artists such as Andy Warhol, Lucien Freud, and Pablo Picasso. The two exhibitions are presented in adjoining galleries and offer the visitor the opportunity to make connections between the various artists, artdaily reports.



The Karsh exhibition celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of Yousuf Karsh (Canadian, born Armenia, 1908-2002) as part of a nationwide celebration. Karsh is one of the most celebrated portrait photographers of the twentieth century. More than 15,000 people sat in front of Karsh's camera—from ordinary citizens to such influential figures as Winston Churchill and Albert Einstein. Karsh made a concerted effort to record the century's most accomplished individuals, especially those in the arts. A selection of twenty-seven photographs of visual artists and designers comprise this exhibition; all are promised gifts to The RISD Museum from the artist's estate administered by his wife, Estrellita Karsh.



The exhibition of portraits drawn from the Museum's collection consists of portraits of literary, performing, and visual artists by a broad range of twentieth-century artists associated with the genre.



Yousuf or Josuf (his given Armenian name was Hovsep) Karsh was born in Mardin, a city in the eastern Ottoman Empire (currently in Turkey). He grew up during the Armenian Genocide. At the age of 14, he fled with his family to Syria to escape persecution. Two years later, his parents sent Yousuf to live in Canada with his uncle, who was a photographer.



The image of Churchill brought Karsh international prominence, and is claimed to be the most reproduced photographic portrait in history.