Facts regarding Arsen Diran’s biography are scant. His photography pavilion was located at 98 Court Street in Boston and was established by 1901 at the latest. (1) We don’t know where the photographer was from originally or when he immigrated to the USA. Diran’s customers were mainly representatives of Boston’s middle classes and members of the Armenian community. His portraits are elegantly staged and photographed through a very masterful use of soft lighting and balanced compositions. The photographer, however, was not especially interested in making ‘character’ portraits and his photographs rarely go beyond the task of capturing a pleasant but stiff likenesses. According to historian Marc Mamigonian, Arsen’s younger brother, Suren, was also involved in the photography business, though whether the brothers worked together or separately is not entirely clear. (2)

1) Sampson & Davenport's Boston MA City Directory, 1901

2) Marc A. Mamigonian, ‪The Armenians of New England: Celebrating a Culture and Preserving a Heritage, Armenian Heritage Press, 2004, p.194

Vigen Galstyan, 2016