23 Facts About Skunder Boghossian

Alexander "Skunder" Boghossian was an Ethiopian painter and art teacher.

Skunder Boghossian spent much of his life living and working in the United States.

Skunder Boghossian was one of the first, and by far the most acclaimed, contemporary Black artists from the African continent to gain international attention.

Skunder Boghossian's father, Kosrof Gorgorios Boghossian, was a colonel in the Kebur Zabagna and of Armenian descent.

Skunder Boghossian has a sister, Aster Skunder Boghossian, and a half brother, Mulugeta Kassa.

Skunder Boghossian's father was active in the resistance against the Italian occupation and was imprisoned for seven years when Skunder Boghossian was one year old.

Skunder Boghossian's mother had set up a new life apart her children and although both he and his sister Aster visited their mother frequently, they were raised in the home of their uncle Kathig Boghassian.

Skunder Boghossian attended a traditional kindergarten where he was taught the Ge'ez script.

Skunder Boghossian studied art informally at the Teferi Mekonnen School.

Skunder Boghossian studied under Stanislaw Chojnacki, a historian of Ethiopian art and watercolor painter.

French Canadian philosopher and painter, Jacques Goudbet, influenced Skunder Boghossian, allowing him to create paintings without them feeling forced.

Skunder Boghossian met Marilyn Pryce in Paris, 1964, while she was studying cinematography.

Skunder Boghossian had two children, Aida Mariam and Edward Addisu, a sister, and four grandchildren.

Skunder Boghossian worked closely with a group of West African artists.

Skunder Boghossian mined his early childhood memories, Coptic markings in Biblical art, illuminated church manuscripts, and ancient scrolls to stamp iconic signatures thick and crusty, flat and smooth, on canvas, hardboard, bark cloth, aluminum or paper.

Skunder Boghossian wanted his viewers to look at his paintings and make up their own interpretations, all the while imagining the figures on the canvas being brought to life rather than just being placed on there.

Skunder Boghossian greatly valued the importance of rhythm in his paintings.

Skunder Boghossian incorporated many different religious symbols in both his life and in his work ranging from Christian, to African, to Santerian.

Skunder Boghossian won second prize at the Jubilee Anniversary Celebration of Haile Selassie I in 1954.

Skunder Boghossian was the first contemporary African artist to have his work purchased by the Musee d'Art Moderne in Paris in 1963.

Skunder Boghossian was commissioned by the World Federation of United Nations Associations.

In 2001, Skunder Boghossian worked with Kebedech Tekleab on a commission called Nexus for the Wall of Representation at the Embassy of Ethiopia in Washington, DC The work is an aluminum relief sculpture mounted on the granite wall of the embassy.

Skunder Boghossian died on May 4,2003, at Howard University Hospital in Washington, DC.