The photo-studio established by A. Avagyants was located on the Gimnazicheskaya street in Baku, at Adamov’s commercial house. This was one of the working-class and trade districts of the city and Avagyants’ customers were primarily representatives from these layers of society. In his portraits, the full range of Baku’s colourfully multiethnic populace comes to the fore. Though simplistic and unassuming in their intentions, these images contain a more piercing immediacy than many of the finessed, ‘artistic’ portraits made by Avagyants’ local competitors. Facts regarding the photographer’s biography have not come to light.

Vigen Galstyan, 2016