Overwhelming quantity of Armenian art and cultural heritage should be  in Armenia - premier

ArmInfo.  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended the opening of the exhibition titled "Arshile Gorky. New York - Yerevan. A new acquisition" at the National Gallery of Armenia. The government acquired the world- famous  American-Armenian artist's graphic work "Untitled" (1944) at an  international auction, which is an important contribution to the  replenishment of the national collection.

The event was attended by Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan, Minister of  Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan, Director of  the National Gallery of Armenia Marina Hakobyan, representatives of  the executive branch, artists, and guests.

The Prime Minister made a speech, congratulated everyone on this day,  and noted that Arshile Gorky is one of the significant figures of  world fine arts and fine arts of Armenian origin. "Our event today  and the Government's decision have several meanings, and all these  meanings, of course, are related to the following: we talk a lot  about the fact that the state, statehood, the Republic of Armenia  should be the axis and gravitational center of Armenian life. Our  people have had different pages in history:  sometimes the center of  Armenian reality was Madras, sometimes, at some point, the center of  Armenian reality was Istanbul, sometimes at some point, the center of  Armenian reality was Tbilisi, at some point, the center of Armenian  reality was Venice, etc. We say that the center of Armenian reality  and life in all respects - cultural, ideological - is the Republic of  Armenia. And this situation, which exists and must develop, must be  permanent and not temporary."

According to Nikol Pashinyan, the overwhelming quantity of Armenian  art and cultural heritage should be in the Republic of Armenia.  According to the Prime Minister, this is not an isolated event, as a  similar important event recently took place in the History Museum,  and such an event has already been celebrated twice in the  Matenadaran. Prime Minister Pashinyan emphasized that this is a  policy that the Government has adopted and all opportunities will be  used to bring the heritage of Armenian origin of art and culture to  the Republic of Armenia and make it a lasting haven for these values.   In this context, the Prime Minister expressed gratitude to all  citizens working in Armenia, creating results, and paying taxes  prescribed by law, since Arshile Gorky's painting appeared in the  Republic of Armenia thanks to thousands of tax-paying citizens.   Summing up his speech, Nikol Pashinyan also expressed gratitude to  those who initiated and facilitated this process and brought it to  its logical conclusion.

Within the framework of the program for replenishing museum  collections of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports  of the Republic of Armenia, implemented with state funds in 2025, the  "Cultural Development" Foundation conducted inspections of the lists  of values offered for sale by international auction houses and  private galleries.

As a result of the inspections, it was found that the Sotheby's  auction house in London presents the graphic work "Untitled" (1944)  (paper, pencil, 45.4 ? 55.5 cm) by the world- famous  American-Armenian artist Arshile Gorky. The starting price of the  auction was 45,000 euros, and the expected maximum price was 70,000  euros.

During the auction held on December 3, 2025, the Government acquired  this work for 30,978,000 (thirty million nine hundred seventy-eight  thousand) drams and placed it in the National Gallery of Armenia.