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'The interior of the Yerevan closed market'

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- place 'Armenia'

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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'The interior of the Yerevan closed market'

by Ida Kar
vintage print, 1957
9 1/8 in. x 7 3/8 in. (233 mm x 186 mm) overall
Purchased, 1999
Photographs Collection
NPG x134146

Artistback to top

  • Ida Kar (1908-1974), Photographer. Artist or producer associated with 1567 portraits, Sitter in 137 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Kar returned to Armenia in 1957, both to fulfil a commission and to see her ageing parents, whom she had not seen for ten years. She was treated as an honoured guest and, assisted by her fluency in Russian and Armenian, her comfortable base at the Hotel Armenia and her government driver, she enjoyed a productive visit.
The two boys posing for Kar inside the covered market in Erevan are seen among soldiers in Russian uniform, who, Kar noted, stood to remind 'loungers on the steps of the collective market that this is the USSR'.

Linked publicationsback to top

  • Freestone, Clare (appreciation) Wright, Karen (appreciation), Ida Kar Bohemian Photographer, 2011 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 10 March to 19 June 2011), p. 123 Read entry

    Kar returned to Armenia in 1957, both to fulfil a commission and to visit her ageing parents, whom she had not seen for ten years. She was treated as an honoured guest and, thanks to her fluency in Russian and Armenian, her comfortable base at the Hotel Armenia and her government driver, she enjoyed a productive visit. Her Armenian album contains contact prints of artists and peasant workers, public monuments and ruins. Eleven photographs made during this Armenian trip were shown in the Whitechapel exhibition, including a portrait of a monk, a silhouette titled Study of a Radar and a portrait of her father. The two boys posing for Kar inside the covered market in Yerevan are seen among soldiers in Russian uniform, which, Kar noted, stood to remind 'loungers on the steps of the collective market that this is the USSR' (Armenia remained under Soviet rule until 1991). In her Tatler cover story, 'Return to Armenia', Kar added, 'I still carry with me a picture of the hot colours and shimmering towers and peaks of my country and my pride at belonging to such a warm-hearted nation.'

Placesback to top

  • Place made and portrayed: Armenia (Yerevan, Armenia)

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Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1957back to top

Current affairs

Harold Macmillan takes over as Conservative prime minister, manoeuvring Eden out of power after his poor handling of the Suez Crisis the previous year.
The Wolfenden Report recommends that homosexuality should no longer be a criminal offence. It still took ten years, however, before any changes were made to the law on homosexuality with the Sexual Offences Act in 1967.

Art and science

The Today Programme is first broadcast on Radio 4. This early morning current affairs programme is known for breaking major stories early, and for its hard-hitting approach and tough interviewing style. Presenters have included: Robert Robinson, Brian Redhead, Libby Purves, Jenni Murray, Sue MacGregor, John Humphrys, Anna Ford and James Naughtie.

International

The Treaty of Rome leads to the formation of the European Economic Community. Officially beginning on 1st January 1958, the EEC established a European Common Market, where goods, services, labour and capital could move freely within the European member countries, and shared policies were agreed for labour, social welfare, agriculture, transport, and foreign trade. The EEC preceded the European Community, and the European Union.

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