Arto Der Haroutunian

Der Haroutunian died of a sudden heart attack in 1987 at the age of 47. He is survived by his wife Frances, their son and grandson.

Each painting can be distinguished by his distinctive signature which combines his first name in English and Armenian. Arto was devoted to Armenia, its people and its heritage and he visited his Armenian homeland for the first time in 1978 when he was invited to attend the 2nd International Symposium on Armenian Art where he was a guest speaker and presented a lecture on the Armenian Castle of Azqit. On his return he wrote a book of poems "From the Future to the Past" in response to that highly emotional visit. The poems tell of his thoughts and experiences before, during and after his visit.

Arto and his brother Koko, a civil engineer, felt that the 'traditional' Greek-Cypriot food served to the public in Britain at that time was a poor reflection of the true Middle Eastern cuisine and they decided to open a genuine Armenian restaurant in Manchester. In 1970 he opened an Armenian restaurant in Manchester with his brother Koko. This developed into a successful chain of restaurants and hotels.

It opened in 1969. Designed by Arto its simple modern style and rich colours was in stark contrast to that of most of the ethnic eating places of the time. It was a style for which he became well-known and his architectural practise came to specialise in hotel, club and restaurant design including ones in Manchester and Leeds for the Mario and Franco chain. To begin with family and friends were roped in to help run the restaurant. Arto's mother and wife worked in the kitchen while the brothers took charge of front of house. Later his cousins came to help. The restaurant became a tremendous success and led to the opening of a second Armenian restaurant in London. This became a magnet for food writers like Elizabeth David, visiting performers like jazz pianist Oscar Petersen and Soviet poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko and the Middle East writer David Marshall Lang. It was also a meeting place for a large number of Armenians, both local and visiting, all looking for good food, company and conversation for example the singer Charles Aznavour, writer William Saroyan, actor Kevork Malikyan and conductors and composers Loris Tjeknavorian and Aram Khatchaturian the latter acting as godfather to Arto's son Raffi.

Arto started painting in 1963 after being goaded into it by an artist friend. He converted the coal cellars of the rectory into a studio and within six months had produced seventy paintings. The first article about his art appeared in 1965 in "The Idiom" an arts magazine produced at the University. At the time he was having his first one-man exhibition at the Manchester Central Library and it was transferred to the Student's Union afterwards.

In 1952, the Der Haroutunian family settled in the north west of England where his father was head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Arto qualified as an architect, having studied at Manchester University. He established his career designing restaurants, clubs and hotels.

The Der Haroutunian family moved to Beirut, Lebanon for a few years before in 1952 settling in Manchester in North West England when his father was sent as a priest to the Armenian Church there. Their home was the rectory attached to the church. When 18 Arto went to Manchester University to study architecture. There he met his future wife Frances who was studying geography. They married in 1967 and Arto qualified as an architect and set up his own practice in 1970. In 1976 their son Raffi was born.

Arto Der Haroutunian (Armenian: Արտո Տեր-Հարությունյան, 1940–1987) was a celebrated British Armenian cook, artist, translator and writer.

Arto Der Haroutunian was born in 1940 in Aleppo, Syria to Armenian parents. His father, a survivor of the Armenian genocide, was from the predominantly Armenian-populated region of Cilicia within the Ottoman Empire.