| Ohannes (Onnes) Kurkdjian | |
| Birth Date: | 1851 |
| Birth Place: | Yerevan, Russian Empire |
| Death Date: | 1903 |
| Death Place: | Surabaya, Dutch East Indies |
| Field: | Photography |
Ohannes Kurkdjian (first name sometimes spelled Onnes, Armenian spelling Hovhannes, 1851–1903) was a photographer based in Yerevan, Tiflis, Singapore and then Surabaya during the Dutch East Indies era.
His namesake business (located at Bultzingslowenplein) was the studio Kurkdjian Atelier and later O. Kurkdjian & Co.
Kurkdjian was born in Kyurin, (Gürun), Ottoman Empire
He produced stereoscopic images of Ani.[1] He worked for another photographer in Singapore for two months and moved to Surabaya, where he eventually established his own studio.[1] [2]
His namesake business (located at Bultzingslowenplein) was Kurkdjian Atelier and later O. Kurkdjian & Co. It grew to employ at least 30 people,[2] one of whom was Thilly Weissenborn, the first significant Indonesian-born female photographer.[3] The studio produced portraits including of Pakoe Boewono X Susuhunan van Solo as well as landscapes, business, building and trade photographs.
In 1897, Kurkdjian was joined by Englishman G. P. Lewis.[2] Lewis took over the business after Kurkdjian's death in 1903 (in Surabaya, Indonesia).[2] The studio was acquired by Mieling & Co., a pharmaceutical company, in 1915.[2]
A famous photograph of Kurkdjian shows him standing behind his tripod-mounted camera photographing a volcano.[2]