Skip to main content

Search

Donate

Home Smithsonian Institution

Site Navigation

  • Visit
    • Museums and Zoo
    • Timed-Entry Passes
    • Tips & Guidelines
    • Accessibility
  • What's On
    • Exhibitions
      • Current Exhibitions
      • Upcoming
      • Past Exhibitions
      • Online Exhibitions
    • Today's Events
    • Online Events
    • All Events
    • IMAX Films
  • Explore & Learn
    • Explore Interests
      • Art & Design
      • History & Culture
      • Science & Nature
      • Blogs
      • Mobile Apps
      • Podcasts
    • Collections
      • Open Access
      • Smithsonian Snapshot
    • For Educators
      • Resources
      • Field Trips
      • Events
      • Professional Development
    • For Kids and Teens
    • Youth Programs
    • For Researchers
      • Libraries
      • Archives
        • Smithsonian Institution Archives
        • Air and Space Museum
        • Anacostia Community Museum
        • American Art Museum
        • Archives of American Art
        • Archives of American Gardens
        • American History Museum
        • American Indian Museum
        • Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, African Art
        • Freer|Sackler Archives
        • Hirshhorn Archive
        • National Anthropological Archives
        • National Portrait Gallery
        • Ralph Rinzler Archives, Folklife
        • Libraries and Special Collections
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer
      • Behind-the-Scenes
      • Citizen Science
      • Digital Volunteers
      • Smithsonian Call Center
      • Visitor Information Specialist
      • Docent Programs
    • Fellowships & Internships
    • Work with Us
      • Human Resources
        • Working Here
        • Employee Benefits
        • Job Opportunities
        • How to Apply
        • Job Seekers with Disabilities
        • Frequently Asked Questions
        • Contact Us
      • Affiliations
      • Global Partners
  • Support
    • Become a Member
    • Renew Your Membership
    • Give Monthly
  • About
    • Museums and Zoo
    • Research Centers
    • Cultural Centers
    • Education
    • Our Leadership
      • Secretary Bunch
      • Assistant Secretary for Advancement
      • Assistant Secretary for Communications and External Affairs
      • Under Secretary for Administration
      • Under Secretary for Education
      • Under Secretary for Museums and Culture
      • Under Secretary for Science and Research
    • Our Organization
      • Board of Regents
        • Members
        • Committees
        • Reading Room
        • Bylaws, Policies and Procedures
        • Contact
        • Schedules and Agendas
        • Meeting Minutes
        • Actions
        • Webcasts
      • Inspector General
        • About the OIG
        • Contact OIG
        • Office of Audits
        • Office of Investigations
        • Reports and Other Publications
        • Report Waste, Fraud, Abuse
      • General Counsel
        • Legal History
        • Internships
        • Records Requests
          • Records Request Reading Room
        • Tort Claim
        • Subpoenas & Testimonies
        • Events
      • Equal Employment Office
        • EEO Complaint Process
        • Individuals with Disabilities
        • Special Emphasis Program
        • Supplier Diversity Program
          • Doing Business with Us
          • Policies and Procedures
          • Additional Resources
          • Goals and Accomplishments
    • Reports and Plans
      • Annual Reports
      • Metrics Dashboard
        • Dashboard Home
        • Virtual Smithsonian
        • Public Engagement
        • National Collections
        • Research
        • People & Operations
        • One Smithsonian
      • Strategic Plan
    • Newsdesk
      • News Releases
      • Media Contacts
      • Photos and Video
      • Media Kits
      • Fact Sheets
      • Visitor Stats
      • Secretary and Admin Bios
      • Filming Requests

The End of the Beginning

National Museum of African Art

Addthis Share Tools

    • Print

Object Details

Alexander "Skunder" Boghossian, 1937-2003, born Ethiopia
Label Text
This image depicts the burning of Axum and Lalibela, two historically significant sites in Ethiopia. Here, the artist-seer prefigures the Ethiopian revolution of 1974 and illustrates the overturning of church and imperial hegemony in modern Ethiopia. The white bird in the center, poised as a phoenix, is witness to and survivor of the destruction, while the spirit figure on the right represents the past hoping to escape the violent present. Skunder has deconstructed spatial order to convey a sense of collision and shock, a metaphor for revolution and change.
Alexander "Skunder" Boghossian was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1937. In 1955 he was awarded an Ethiopian government scholarship to study in Europe. He spent two years in London where he attended St. Martins School, Central School and the Slade School of Fine Art. He extended his sojourn in Europe another nine years as a student and teacher at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris, and as a student and teacher in the atelier of Alberto Giacometti. In 1966 Boghossian returned to Ethiopia where he taught at the Fine Arts School in Addis Ababa until 1969.
He made his first trip to the United States in 1970 and, except for a trip home when his father died in 1972, he spent the remainer of his life in the US. The 1974 revolution in Ethiopia prevented Boghossian from returning to Ethiopia. He lived in the USA as a permanent resident, and artist in exile. Boghossian taught at Atlanta University, Hampton University and from 1974 to 2003 at Howard University. As a practicing artist, Boghossian's paintings have been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Ethiopia, the Caribbean, Europe and North and South America.
Description
Horizontal oil on canvas paitning with a winged masked figure on the proper left, a long low lizard like animal in the lower proper right and a whitish bird in the center. the background is suggestive of menhirs or buildings and there is a wide range of colors.
Exhibition History
Histórias Afro-Atlânticas, Museu de Arte de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, June 28-October 21, 2018
African Cosmos: Stellar Arts, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., June 20-December 9, 2012; Newark Museum, February 26-August 11, 2013; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, August 23-November 30, 2014; Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University, Atlanta, January 31-June 21, 2015 (exhibited at Carlos Museum)
Continuity and Change: Three Generations of Ethiopian Artists, Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, FL, January 23-May 6, 2007; Diggs Gallery at Winston-Salem State University, Winston Salem, NC, May 26-December 26, 2007
Ethiopian Passages: Dialogues in the Diaspora, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., May 3-December 7, 2003
Transatlantic Dialogue: Contemporary Art In and Out of Africa, Tampa Museum of Art, December 10, 2000-January 28, 2001
Published References
Biasio, Elizabeth. 1999. "Zerihun Yetmgeta and Ethiopian World Art." Ethiopia: Traditions of Creativity, ed. by Silverman, Raymond A. East Lansing: Michigan State University Museum in association with the University of Washington Press, Seattle, p. 102, no. 5.8.
Harney, Elizabeth. 2003. Ethiopian Passages: Contemporary Art from the Diaspora. London: Philip Wilson; Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, pp. 68-69, pl. 10.
Toledo, To´mas. 2018. Histórias afro-atlânticas. São Paulo: Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, MASP: Instituto Tomie Ohtake. illustrated.
Credit Line
Museum purchase
1972-1973
Object number
91-18-2
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Framed: 122.3 × 169.2 × 3.8 cm (48 3/16 × 66 5/8 × 1 1/2 in.)
Geography
Ethiopia
See more items in
National Museum of African Art Collection
National Museum of African Art
Topic
bird
mask
Record ID
nmafa_91-18-2
Usage of Metadata (Object Detail Text)
Usage conditions apply
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7b3372743-ca20-47e0-8956-4870686fcdd6
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer

Footer logo

Link to homepage

Footer navigation

  • Contact Us
  • Press Room
  • Employment
  • Host Your Event
  • Access Smithsonian
  • EEO & Supplier Diversity
  • Inspector General
  • Records Requests
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use

Social media links

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Email signup form

Email powered by BlackBaud (Privacy Policy, Terms of Use)
Back to Top