Armenian Sculptor Ara Shiraz Dies at 73

Armenian Sculptor Ara Shiraz Dies at 73 –

YEREVAN (Arka)—Renowned Armenian sculptor Ara Shiraz died at age 73 on Tuesday at Nairi Medical Center in Yerevan. Shiraz had been hospitalized in late February after having a heart attack.

Ara Shiraz was the son of prominent Armenian poets Hovhannes Shiraz and Silva Kaputikian. He was born in Yerevan in 1941. He was a graduate of the Yerevan Institute of Theater and Fine Arts.

Ara Shiraz displayed his works at numerous exhibitions in Moscow, Leningrad, Tbilisi, Paris and other cities.

He was the sculptor of prominent monuments throughout Armenia such as those of Paruyr Sevak (Yerevan, 1974), Yeghishe Charents (Charencavan, 1977), political leader Alexander Miasnikian (Yerevan, 1980) and American-Armenian writer William Saroyan (Yerevan Pantheon, 1991). In 1987 he was elected president of the Union of Artists of Armenia.

His sculptures are on display in the Museum of Contemporary Art of Armenia, the National Gallery, Moscow Tretyakov Gallery, and in many private collections in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tbilisi, Yerevan, Beirut, Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, and Montreal.