Portrait of an art critic Abram Efros 1944

This portrait of art critic Abram Efros was painted by Martiros Sarian, and right away, I’m drawn into the warm, earthy colors and the way they seem to glow. You can see the artist building up the image, stroke by stroke. It's like Sarian is not just depicting his subject, but also revealing the very act of painting. I can almost feel Sarian's focus as he works, trying to capture not just Efros’s likeness, but also something of his spirit. I imagine Sarian thinking about how to translate a person into color and form. Look at the way the red of the chair bounces off Efros's face. It’s not just about what things look like, but how they make you feel. I bet Sarian thought a lot about other painters who came before him. All artists are in conversation with each other, picking up threads, answering questions. Painting becomes a way of thinking, of asking, of responding, and lets us consider new ways of seeing.