Museum of literature and art

What you can see in Museum of literature and art

Armenian Museum of Literature and Art is named after the great Armenian poet Yeghishe Charents. The Museum history begins from 1921. First it was the historiographical department of the State Cultural-historical Museum established in Yerevan. But themuseum begins its main activity since 1922 under theleadership of Yervand Shahaziz, the historian andphilologist, who had brought from Nor-Nakhijevan and handed over to the museum the archives of M. Nalbandyan, G. Patkanyan, R. Patkanyan, H. Khalipyan, S. Shahaziz as well as documents, ancientbooks and other materials concerning the Armenians living in Nor-Nakhijevan. Before that Sayat-Novas autographic Davtar (note- book) of songs had been handed over to the museum (in October 1921) by H. Tumanyan. Afterwards the historiographic department of the cultural-historical museum has been completed byvarious materials of Armenian classics of literature and institutions, and starting from May 16, 1935 it has been separated and become an independent institution (Khoren Sargisyan was the first director). In the same year with efforts of the theatrelogist Sarkis Meliksetyan the theatrical museumhas been established in Yerevan. A year before that the memorial-room after Romanos Melikyan wasestablished in Yerevan Conservatory. Starting from July21 1942 the Museum of Literature has been included in the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union at first asan Armenian branch, then in the structure of Academy of Sciences of Armenia as an Institute of Language and Literature and finally, as an independent department ofthe Institute of Literature. Since May 1953 the Museumacts under the competence of Ministry of Culture as anseparate department of the Armenian State Historical Museum. In October 1954 the Museum of Literature and Art has been formed by joining the literary and theatrical museums and the study after Romanos Melikyan. Till 1963 the museum acted first underthe competence of Academy of Sciences and from that period to nowadays under the competence ofthe Ministry of Culture. Since 1967 the Museum has been named after Y. Charents. Later (in 1977) the museum housed materials concerning the Armenian Cinematographic Art.