Born in the village Ashtarak (Armenia), Pertch Proshyan is better known as a seminal figure in 19th century Armenian prose literature. The author of numerous realistic novels about the life of Armenian peasantry, Proshyan became one of the first entrepreneurs to take up photography in Eastern Armenia in 1860. He was sponsored in this endeavour by the publisher Hambardzum Enfiadjyan from Tiflis who wanted the young writer to learn the art of photography for the purpose of assembling a photographic record of Armenian historical monuments. While this project failed, Proshyan continued to practice as a commercial photographer in various corners of the Caucasus. An advertisement in the newspaper Meghu Hayastani informs us that he opened his first studio in Tiflis in 1861. He is known to have taken mostly portraits, which are notable for their simplicity as well as an astute observations of the psychological traits of the sitters. In all likelihood he stopped taking photographs by mid 1870s, dedicating himself to writing, journalism and educational work. His photographic legacy remains little known and overshadowed by his literary output.

Vigen Galstyan, 2016