Artist Edmund Yaghjian got his start in New York and showed there for many years before moving to Columbia in 1945.
His work will be back in New York for a show this fall.
The ACA Gallery, which has shown modern American art since 1932, is mounting a Yaghjian show in October.
"Wow - that's incredible," said Sandra Rupp, director of the Hampton III Gallery in Greenville, which hosted a large show by the artist in 2001.
"It's great for his family, for South Carolina and for collectors who bought and appreciated the work early on."
Yaghjian, who died here in 1997, was in several important New York museum shows before coming to Columbia to head the USC art department. His work is the subject of a 100-piece retrospective at the State Museum through Sept. 16.
Among his paintings are gritty New York City scenes from the '30s, small-town New England scenes and images of rundown streets and corner stores in Columbia.
Early this year, Yaghjian's daughter, Candy Waites, began sending letters, copies of the museum exhibition catalog and reviews of the show to galleries to drum up interest. Jeffrey Bergen, president of ACA, came to Columbia last week to see the retrospective and offered to do a show.
"He was extremely impressed," Waites said. "I'm really excited about it. It's what I set out to do."
(ACA is closed for summer vacation, and Bergen could not be reached for comment.)
One reason Yaghjian's work can be shown in New York is the lack of interest among regional museums. The State Museum planned to create a traveling exhibition of the artist's work, but no other institutions wanted it, said Paul Matheny, art curator.
The New York exhibition will run Oct. 20 through Dec. 1 and most likely will concentrate on Yaghjian's New York paintings.
"I'm hoping it will be a very good match," Waites said.
The ACA Gallery, which recently relocated to the Chelsea art district after decades on the Upper East Side, has been a strong proponent of early 20th-century American modern art.
"This is wonderful," Rupp said of the upcoming show. "You just knew this artist hadn't been given the recognition he deserved."
Reach Day at (803) 771-8518.
[From www.thestate.com] |
