WATERTOWN – A special exhibition at the Armenian Museum of America, “Arshile Gorky: Redrawing Community and Connections,” celebrates the life of the Armenian-American painter Arshile Gorky and his roots in Watertown, Massachusetts.

“After the Armenian Genocide of 1915, many Armenians came to Watertown,” said Jason Sohigian, the Executive Director of the Armenian Museum of America.

Gorky was born Vostanik Manoug Adoian in Van, Armenia, on April 15, 1904. As a teenager, he fled the Ottoman Empire, surviving the Armenian Genocide while his mother died. He immigrated to the U.S., making Watertown his home for about five years before moving to New York. Gorky became a painter and a pioneer of abstract expressionism. Even one of Gorky’s famous photographs features him painting outside his former home on Dexter Ave. in Watertown, which the city even dedicated as an Arshile Gorky Square.

“In the 1920s, the Hood Rubber Factory was here, so many people came for jobs,” explains Sohigian.

The exhibition is part of the city-wide celebration, “100 Years of Gorky,” honoring his life and his contributions to Watertown, the Armenian community, art, and society. It highlights Gorky’s origins and the origins of many Armenians in Watertown, emphasizing the role the Hood Rubber Factory played.

Kim S. Theriault is the curator of the exhibition. Theriault provides many reasons why people should come see the exhibition.

“If you’re Armenian, it’s definitely part of your story too,” she says. “His story is kind of typical of your grandparents [and] your great-grandparents.” She also notes that some of the exhibition’s pieces have rarely been exhibited and may never be exhibited again.

The exhibition, which officially opened on Dec. 12, 2025, will close on April 26. The Armenian Museum of America is open from Thursday through Sunday from 12 -6 p.m. 

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