Armenian-American artist Sam Zumyan received professional guidance and support from Hovhannes Sharambeyan while still a young artist. Years later, he recalled their long friendship with great warmth. After Sharambeyan’s death, Zumyan created a series of portraits of his senior artist friend as a tribute to his memory.
The graphic work Rockwell Kent and Hovhannes Sharambeyan was inspired by a remarkable episode from their lives. In 1960, American artist and writer Rockwell Kent visited Armenia and toured Dilijan accompanied by Sharambeyan. Captivated by the town’s natural beauty, he called Dilijan “a little Switzerland” and donated several of his works to the local museum of regional history, where they are still on display today.
As a gesture of gratitude, and on Sharambeyan’s initiative, the people of Dilijan presented Kent with an ancient ceramic vessel. The gift acquired special significance for the artist: at his request, after his death, his ashes were placed in that very vessel