This biography from the Archives of AskART:
|  Known for lush still lifes, landscapes, and portraits in oil, he also works in watercolors and pastels. He began to get attention as an artist in the early 1980s as an artist who obviously loved the Southwest. In 1988, he won the Robert Lougheed Memorial at the National Academy of Western Art Exhibition, and he has also received recognition from the Pastel Society of America and the Northwest Rendezvous, both of which he is a member.
He was born and raised in the Middle East and enrolled in art classes at age fifteen and was trained in the style of the Russian masters and traditions of Ilya Repin and Valentin Serov. Soon after, he had portrait commissions. His parents died when he was young and did not live to see his success.
When he was in his early thirties, he became a United States citizen and moved first to Nevada where other family members had settled. In 1970, he did a large mural for the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. He worked as an interior designer, but wanted more freedom to be creative. Eventually he moved to Arizona and established his studio and home in Tempe. He prefers to work from afternoon into the night because he likes quiet and solitude.
In America, he has done portraits of celebrities including Frank Sinatra, Sylvester Stallone, and Dean Martin. He has exhibited at numerous western shows including The Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma and The Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. |
Biography from Trailside Galleries - WY:
|  Cyrus Afsary is known for works of art that not only capture moments in
time, but create moods about people and places as well. With an
eclectic range of subjects, Afsary moves from portraits to still lifes
to landscapes with a magical grace that reflects his sensitive and
emotional study of life. As a child, his love for art was
evident. And while his father was concerned for his penchant for
art, his mother encouraged his talent.
Afsary enrolled in art school at the age of 15. As a teenager, he
received commissions for painting portraits, which served him well
later in his career when he was invited to paint portraits of Sylvester
Stallone, Frank Sinatra, Susan Anton, Dean Martin, and Wayne Newton’s
horse, Aramis.In college, Afsary earned two Bachelor of Arts degrees,
one in Fine Arts and the other in interior design. His education
has led him, through the years, to paint a wide variety of subjects in
his preferred medium, oil, and sometimes watercolors and pastels.
He has been greatly influenced by the artwork of the masters,
especially the great Russian artists, Ilya Repin and Valentin Serov.
Afsary’s work has been featured in numerous shows and he has won a
variety of awards, including, Best of Show at the Charles M. Russell
Museum’s art exhibition, the Exceptional Merit Award from the National
Art Club in the 1986 Pastel Society of Northwest Rendezvous.
In 1988, he was the first recipient of the Robert Lougheed Memorial
Award, then sponsored by the National Academy of Western Art. He
won both Silver and Gold Medals in the NAWA shows.Afsary has
participated at the Masters of the American West Show at the Autry
Museum in Los Angeles in 2001 and in 2002, participated in the Buffalo
Bill Historical Center Show and Sale. Afsary was one of four
artists chosen to exhibit in Gilcrease Museum’s 2002 Rendezvous in
Tulsa, Oklahoma.
He and his work have been profiled in Midwest Art, Southwest Art, Art of the West and most recently, American Artist.
That profile noted, “A gentle, thoughtful man with a ready laugh, Cyrus
Afsary is equally adept at painting landscapes, still lifes, and
portraits, infusing each with the sensitivity that characterizes all of
his work. His colors are clear and clean; the brushwork is decisive and
vigorous, conveying through lucid technical choices his personal
interpretation of the subject at hand. A viewer might feel the
warmth of the sun and observe the clarity of light in his landscapes
and assume the artist paints outdoors. “I’m kind of lazy,” he confides,
“But I do paint outdoors occasionally. We have beautiful light in
Arizona.” |
Biography from Morris & Whiteside Galleries:
| Raised in the Middle East, Cyrus Afsary began his artistic studies at an early age. Enrolling in an art conservatory at fifteen, his first art education sprung from the strict realist training coming from Russia during that time. Many of Afsary's classes were very structured in their teachings and much of his time was spent drawing from life.
It was also at this time that Afsary began to earn a living as an artist, selling commission portraits while in his teens. After leaving the conservatory, Afsary continued to paint and decided to pursue a career as an artist in his early thirties. Now known for his portraits he continues to explore other subject matter as well, ranging from landscapes to still lives. Although he works primarily in oils, he also likes to experiment with other mediums, such as pastels and watercolors.
In the 1980's, Afsary's work began to attract the attention of Western art dealers and collectors. Today Afsary continues to work from his studio in Phoenix, Arizona. He has been the receipient of many art awards including the first Robert Lougheed Memorial at the 1988 National Academy of Western Art Exhibition, Best of Show at the C.M. Russell Museum Art Exhibition and the Exceptional Merit Award from the National Arts Club. |
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