Lot 84: The Prayer

Sirak Melkonian (Iranian, b. 1930) The Prayer signed with artist's initials, signed 'S. Melkonian' (upper left) oil on canvas 46 7/8 x 31½in. (119 x 80cm.) Painted in 1957

119 x 80cm.

Tehran, Ist Biennale of Tehran, 1957. Tehran, Aria Gallery & Ab/Anbar, Sirak Melkonian: Seven Decades of Painting, 2014.

Unknown, "Marcel Proust and Sirak Melkonian", in Anahita Art & Cinema Monthly Magazine (in Farsi), 1958 (illustrated, unpaged).

Aria Gallery, Tehran. Acquired from the above by the present owner.

The present work is a newly rediscovered painting from the early stages of Sirak Melkonian's art production. Painted in the late 1950s, it was exhibited at the acclaimed Tehran Biennale in 1958, the same year the artist was granted the Imperial Court Prize for a work from the same series. Sirak Melkonian has skillfully experimented with line, colour and form to depict a cubist-like figure in a customary setting, perhaps hinting at a social reality that surrounded him at the time. As one of his earliest works known today, the present composition is a masterpiece on its own and a testimony to the artist's acclaimed career and unquestionable talent. An artist who has been overlooked for a few years, Sirak Melkonian's role into shaping Modern Iranian art is undeniable. In recent years, light has been shed on his career and production and an acclaimed retrospective of his oeuvre, spanning over seven decades, was held in his native Iran. The artist lives and works in Toronto. His works are featured in eminent private and public collections.