Christophor Tadevossian (Ch. Tad) - architect, artist and writer

Christophor Tadevossian (Ch. Tad) was born on 12 October 1905 in a family of two revolutionaries: Armenian father and Russian mother, in Tbilisi, the beautiful capital of Georgia. He lived and studied in Moscow until the October revolution and in Yerevan (Armenia) and Tabriz (Iran) until 1922. In Moscow he studied painting with the Russian artist Kuprin. In Yerevan he studied painting with the City Architect Tamanian.

Ch. Tad wasn't quite 17 when he was sent to Geneva to study at the School of Architecture.

Upon graduation Ch. Tad somehow contrived to participate at the First World Congress of Architects-Urbanists held in a Swiss castle in 1926. Having declined an offer from the famous Corbusier to work as his associate he returned to Iran and in the course of his career became the doyen of the Iranian architects. He started painting again at the age of 58. Leaving Iran for Switzerland in 1973 Ch. Tad started a new career as an artist. He wrote short stories, novellas and novels as a hobby.

Ch. Tadevossian signed his architectural projects with his full name and his paintings as Ch.Tad.

The Imperial family acquired several of his Ch. Tad's paintings before the revolution that transformed Iran. One of those paintings was in St Moritz, Switzerland. There were several exhibitions of his pastels in Paris and Geneva. The last one was held posthumously at the United Nations in Geneva in 2006.

A biography of Christophor Tadevossian (Ch. Tad) was written by author of several books Michel Fromont, and published in French in Geneva in 2006 and in Armenian in Yerevan in 2007. Two TV channels in Yerevan did a live interview and presented the book.

Chistophor Tadevossian passed peacefully away in Geneva at the age of 86.