Historical Portrait
Vartan Shapazian, portrait, photograph
Archive record
Name erroneously listed as "Shabazian" on photograph caption. Forms part of a group of field materials documenting Vartan S. Shapazian performing Armenian and Armeno-Turkish songs on October 30, 1939, collected by Sidney Robertson Cowell in Fowler, California.
About this photograph
This portrait shows Vartan Shapazian, whose name was misspelled as "Shabazian" in the original photograph caption. Sidney Robertson Cowell took the photograph in Fowler, California, on October 30, 1939, as part of field documentation during which Shapazian performed Armenian and Armeno-Turkish songs.
The portrait belongs to the W.P.A. California Folk Music Project, which Cowell directed. Between 1938 and 1940, the project recorded and photographed traditional musicians across Northern California, deliberately working across immigrant communities rather than focusing on any single tradition.
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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