Obituary of Norman Gulamerian

Norman Berj Gulamerian, 92, Brooklyn born son of Armenian immigrants, artist, author, co-founder of Utrecht Art Supply Corporation, WWII Veteran (US Navy), book collector and father of five, passed away on April 13th of coronavirus. Norman was born August 29, 1927. The youngest child born to Marderos and Arax (Hovivian) Gulamerian, he looked up to his big brother Harold, 3 years older, and never forgot the big sister he never knew, Alice, who died in infancy. Norman was a rambunctious boy by all accounts, fun loving and mischievous. Norman’s love and study of art was the foundational and primary driving force throughout his entire life. His appreciation of artists was expansive, from Bosch to Rembrandt to Cezanne to Picasso, his love of art was unbounded by genre, style or century. He was very young when taken to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York by his mother. He remembered staring back at El Greco’s View of Toledo as they were leaving one of the galleries. His love and knowledge of art was profound and his understanding of the work of so many artists was expansive. The first book he ever bought at the age of 12, in what would become an enormous library, was a book on Rembrandt. Norman was a painter from a very young age. At 15, he apprenticed for the artist Frederick Taubes where he learned to grind pigments and prepare canvases. He was accepted to and attended The High School of Music & Art in New York City (now LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts). He left before graduation to enlist in the Navy. His brother Harold, worried that Norman would be drafted into the Army, (where Harold served), encouraged him to enlist before graduating in order to choose. With his parents written permission, he enlisted in the Navy at the age of 17. After boot camp he was on a mine tender, the USS Monadnock (ACM-10), bound for Japan on his 18th birthday. He was part of the US Occupation of Japan, in Sasebo. After returning from the war he finished high school and studied at Brooklyn College and The New School. Norman co-founded Utrecht Linens, which became Utrecht Art Supply Corporation with his brother Harold. It all started when Norman was unable to find high quality linen to stretch his canvases. He ordered a roll of linen from Belgium. Harold wondered if other artists were having as much trouble finding linen as Norman. And so began Utrecht Linens in the basement of the house in Brooklyn. The company expanded and moved into factory space. Together, with Norman’s specifications and Harold’s background in chemistry, they developed a complete line of oil, tempra, acrylic and watercolor paint still made today in Brooklyn, New York. In 1957, they were the first to develop acrylic gesso for priming canvases. At the beginning, Utrecht sold directly to the public through catalogs mailed across the country. In 1968, they opened their first retail store in NYC. Over the next 30 years they opened 10 stores across the country and their factory in Brooklyn had expanded to 50,000 square feet. In 1963, Norman wrote the book A Language of a Work of Art, a presentation of all the important principles and factors that contribute to the appreciation and creation of works of art. It became a widely used textbook. Norman’s life changed completely when he met and fell head over heels for a young widow, Mary K. Alexander and her five children, while visiting relatives in St. Louis, Missouri. They married in June of 1969 and moved to New Jersey. They were married for nearly 50 years. Norman is predeceased by his parents and brother, his son Christopher Alexander (1971) and the love of his life Mary A. Gulamerian (2019). He is survived by his children Rebecca Alexander, Seth (Jaime d.2017) Alexander, Eve (Steve) Balboni, Jennifer (Peter) Pagano, his grandchildren Daniel (Kate) Balboni, Matthew Balboni, Michael Balboni, Elizabeth Pagano, Thomas Pagano and two great-grandchildren Gabriel Balboni and Gemma Balboni. In light of the pandemic, a memorial for Norman will be held some time in the future. In lieu of flowers donations in Norman’s name can be made to Alumni & Friends of LaGuardia, P.O. Box 230015, Ansonia Station, NY, NY 10023 or online at alumniandfriends.org/give/annual-fund (add in memo line you’re honoring Norman Gulamerian). --