Michael Zakian Papers

Michael Zakian was born on April 7, 1957 in New York. He became interested in art at a young age and was inspired by pieces he saw on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art amongst other museums. After High School, Zakian enrolled in Columbia University and graduated with a Bachelor's in Art History. He continued his art education at Rutgers University where he worked as a teaching assistant while attaining his Master's with a focus on American abstract expressionism and later earning his doctorate in the same study.

Zakian moved to Southern California in 1984 and worked at the Palm Springs Art Museum, first as an assistant curator and then an associate curator. A decade later in 1995, Michael moved from Palm Springs to Malibu to take over as the director of the Frederick R. Weisman Museum at Pepperdine University. In addition to his work at the Weisman Museum, Michael taught several courses on topics like baroque and rococo art, architecture, and contemporary art at Pepperdine University.

Zakian practised art himself and published three books on artists and their work, including “Agnes Pelton: Poet of Nature,” “Sam Francis: Elements and Archetypes” and “Wayne Thiebaud: Works from 1955 to 2003.”

Michael Zakian died of pancreatic cancer on January 14, 2020.