Destined for Destruction, Paintings Find Their Way From Garage to Gallery
Recluse artist Arthur Pinajian didn’t find much commercial success during his life. Years later, however, he became a highly valued artist when his work was salvaged before its destruction. Better late than never, according to Concordia College’s OSilas Gallery in Bronxville. The Gallery is showcasing the artist’s work in a solo exhibition through March 17. The Pinajian Discovery: An Artist’s Life Revealed, curated by Peter Hastings Falk, will display thirty of the artist’s abstract landscapes.
In his lifetime, Pinajian created thousands of works – stacks of canvases that were left behind in the garage and attic of his sister’s home. The abstract expressionist painter left instructions for the works to be destroyed; however, when the cottage was purchased by writer Lawrence E. Joseph after the sister’s death, he asked Professor William Innes Homer, a former chair of the Association of Historians of American Art, to examine the collection. Homer assessed that Pinajian “can be ranked among the best artists of his era.” An opening reception will take place on February 1. For more info, visit osilasgallery.org.
A version of this article first appeared in the February issue of ArtsNews, ArtsWestchester’s monthly publication. ArtsNews is distributed throughout Westchester County. A digital copy is also available at artsw.org/artsnews.
About Mary Alice Franklin
Mary Alice Franklin is ArtsWestchester’s Communications Manager and Editor of ArtsNews. She has a Bachelors in English and Masters in Publishing, and has been published in Paste Magazine, HuffPost, Art Zealous, Art Times, and more.
