John Hovannes

1900-1973

American sculptor John Hovannes was born in Smyrna, NY on December 31, 1900. Hovannes studied at the Rhode Island School of Design with Albert Atkins, the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design with John Flanagan, and the Copley Society in Boston with John Wilson.

He worked for Ulric Allerheusen and Leo Friedlander from 1923-1936. He was a member of the Sculptor’s Guild, Audubon Artists, and the Westchester Arts and Crafts Guild. He was an instructor at the Cooper Union Art School in the mid 1940s, and at the Art Students League, NYC as well. He was made a Guggenheim fellow in 1940.

His other distinctions include winning the Eugene Meyer Award in 1941 and the Wings for Victory competition in 1942. His work has been exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (1942-46), the Chicago Art Institute (1942-43), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Academy of Design, Riverside Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Nebraska Art Association, New York World’s Fair (1939), and the Robinson Gallery, where he had a one-man show.

Hovannes died in 1973. His work is in the permanent collection of the Newark Museum.