Historical Portrait
Ruben Baboyan, portrait, photograph
Archive record
Photograph caption: From Van in Armenia. Forms part of a group of field materials documenting Ruben J. Baboyan performing Armenian and Armenian-Turkish songs on April 16, 1939, collected by Sidney Robertson Cowell in Fresno, California.
About this photograph
This portrait was made during a field recording session on April 16, 1939, in Fresno, California. Ruben J. Baboyan performed Armenian and Armenian-Turkish songs for the W.P.A. California Folk Music Project that day. The photograph's caption notes he was from Van in Armenia.
Sidney Robertson Cowell directed the project and made this portrait. Between 1938 and 1940, she recorded and photographed traditional musicians across Northern California, working deliberately across immigrant communities rather than focusing on a single tradition. The resulting collection holds portraits and recordings of Armenian, Icelandic, Italian, Portuguese, Mexican, Irish, and Serbian musicians.
The photograph and Baboyan's recordings are held by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
Compiled from the catalogue record and reference notes on the formats and events involved. The archive record above is the primary source.
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