Armenian Photographers in the Ottoman Empire: Getty Collection presentation

Getty Research Institute Scholar Julia Grimes will present photographs taken by Armenians in the Ottomon Empire. The discussion will be in English.

Armenians in the Ottoman Empire were highly educated and held high level positions. They were scholars, doctors, chemists, goldsmiths, and pharmacists, and many possessed the skills necessary for photography, in particular a thorough knowledge of the chemical processes used in development. Some of the principal studios in Constantinople were owned and operated by photographers of Armenian descent.

Julia Grimes is completing her Ph.D. in Chinese modern and contemporary art at the University of California, Los Angeles. She has been a research assistant at the Getty Research Institute since 2010. She will discuss these studios and their vital importance to the evolution of photography throughout the Ottoman Empire at the close of the 19th century.