his museum is small enough to walk through in less than half and hour, but revolving exhibitions in the first hall make a longer stop worthwhile. The museum displays paintings by M'her Abeghian (a protégé of the expressionist Martiros Sarian), whose work combined approved social realism from the Soviet era with Sarian's mystical landscapes and evocative color schemes.

Abeghian's resume reads like one of the communist faithful, with honors and medals awarded at regular intervals (Abeghian was both Honored Artist of Armenia and People's Artist of the USSR), as well as the frequency of his "inspirational trips" abroad. His work should by no means be judged on that level alone, though, but rather as a study in how an artist caught in a repressive system could both tow the official line while painting officially forbidden themes. Remember he worked when the communists had stamped out all attempts at experimental art.

His huge triptychs Hairenik (Fatherland) and Hayastan are based the Armenian Expressionists mode, incorporating themes and subjects from mythology (definitely not approved material), yet monumental and proletarian enough to satisfy even the staunchest Social Realism critic.