Fire in Martiros Saryan House-Museum did not damage artist's canvases

YEREVAN, JUNE 19, ARMENPRESS. Fire, which broke out in Martiros Saryan House Museum, damaged domestic utilities covering 10 sq. m of the first floor of the building. The Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Armenia informed "Armenpress" that they had received alarm call regarding the fire at 00.00, on June 19. Rapid reaction and rescue groups arrived at the spot. The blaze was isolated at 00.16 and extinguished at 00.34.

The blaze was caused by short circuit. The artist's works were not damaged. The canvases were taken out of the museum to keep them from damage.

The Government of the Republic of Armenia had allocated AMD 396 million from the reserve fund for the capital repair of the Martiros Saryan House Museum.

The museum opened on November 26, 1967.The halls of the museum exhibit those hangings which the artist never parted with in his lifetime.Naturally the collection is far from being complete, most of the artistic works gracing the museums of Moscow, Leningrad, Tbilisi, Kiev, Rostov on-the-Don and many other cities.

The collection of the museum comprises 160 canvases which the artist executed in different periods of his life. Mainly his early works are placed on view here: "Tales and Dreams" (1904—1907), "At the Well. A Hot Day" (1908), Self-Portrait" (1909), "Istanbul Dogs" (1910), apart from dozens of canvases painted in the Soviet period: "Aragats" (1925), "A Yard in Yerevan" (1929), "Three Ages" (1943), "Picking Cotton in the Valley of Ararat" (1949) and others symbolizing the revival of the Armenian people.

He has an attractive gallery of portraits of conspicuous personalities of the Soviet Union and Armenia: Alexey Tolstoy, Ilya Ehrenburg, I. S. Issakov, G. Ulanova, Avetik Issahakian, Victor Ambatsumian and others.