MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES
Museum of Literature and Art stores after Yeghishe Charents
Тhe Museum of Literature and Art is the largest repository of preservation and study of Armenian culture of the new period in the world․
The
Museum of Literature and Art stores the personal archives of Armenian
literature, music, theater, and cinema figures of the 19th and 20th centuries,
the collections of various cultural organizations, which contain a large amount
of information about the aforementioned areas of Armenian culture. Thousands of
studies and articles published both in Armenia and in the Diaspora, contain all
the archival documents kept in Literature and art museum.
The
Museum history begins from 1921. First it was the historiographical department
of the State Cultural-historical Museum established in Yerevan. But the museum
begins its main activity since 1922 under the leadership of Yervand Shahaziz,
the historian and philologist, who had brought from Nor-Nakhijevan and handed
over to the museum the archives of M. Nalbandyan, G. Patkanyan, Raf. Patkanyan,
Hr. Khalipyan, S. Shahaziz as well as documents, ancient books and other
materials concerning the Armenians living in Nor-Nakhijevan. Before that
Sayat-Novas autographic Davtar (notebook) of songs had been handed over to the
museum (in October 1921) by Hovh. Tumanyan.
Since
May 1953 the Museum acts under the competence of Ministry of Culture as a
separate department of the Armenian State Historical Museum.
In October 1954 the Museum of Literature and Art has been formed by joining the literary and theatrical museums and the study after Romanos Melikyan. Till 1963 the museum acted first under the competence of Academy of Sciences and from that period to nowadays under the competence of the Ministry of Culture. Since 1967 the Museum has been named after Yeghishe Charents.
VISITOR INFORMATION
About 2,000,000 items are stored in the museum․ The collection also includes a large number of works of fine and applied art․ The museum also stores documents of great significance, such as Napoleon Bonaparte's resignation, Amadeus Mozart's letter, and so on. The Museum of Literature and Art has six branches: Hovhannes Tumanyan house-museum in Dsegh, Aksel Bakunts house-museum in Goris, house-museums of Perch Proshyan and Grigor Ghapantsyan in Ashtarak, house-museums of Silva Kaputikyan and Derenik Demirchyan in Yerevan. The collection of Iranian-Armenian artist and founder of earthen art Markos Grigoryan is also a part of the museum's collection.
