Artists / Yerevan State College of Fine Arts

The Panos Terlemezyan State College of Fine Arts, the first educational institution of fine arts in Armenia that educated the several generations of Armenian outstanding men of arts, became one of the strongholds of Armenian fine arts.
The history of the Terlemezyan State College of Fine Arts (former “Geghard” Industrial Technical School of Fine Arts) started in 1921. On the strength of the special Decree of the Council of People’s Commissars of Armenia, the school of painting was created in 1921 at the time of office of People’s Commissar for Education Ashot Hovhannisyan. This school of painting became one of the first cultural institutions established by Soviet government alongside with Yerevan State University and State Theater. The first director of the School of Painting became Hovhannes Tadevosyan who headed educational work and teaching staff. The painters, who had been educated at the best centers of their time in Vienna, Paris, Munich, and Moscow, and enjoying immense prestige, such as Martiros Saryan, Vrtanes Akhikyan, Stepan Aghajanyan, Sedrak Arakelyan, Vahram Gayfetchyan, Gabriel Gyurjyan, Hakob Kojoyan, Ara Sargsyan and other famous masters, participated in the origination of our college, and owing to them our college is named the originator, bearer and educator of Armenian cultural traditions. In 1927 the school had the first graduates, Mher Abeghyan, Sedrak Rashmajyan, Babken Kolozyan, and Armen Chilingaryan among them. In 1941 “Geghard” Industrial Technical School of Fine Arts had been renamed after Armenian great master Panos Terlemezyan and became one of the best secondary educational institutions of fine arts.