Painter, printmaker and educator Martin Barooshian was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts to immigrant Armenian parents. He studied at the School of The Museum of Fine Arts and pursued further studies in Paris with Gaston Dorfinant and JeanPons. In the early 1950s, Barooshian studied with Stanley William Hayter at Atelier 17. In addition, he received a BS in education at Tufts University, and a MFA in art history from Boston University.
His style evolved from its early and more conventional stage into a unique form which he characterized as Biomorphic Abstract Surrealism, rich in the deft use of color, which defined his artistic output for many decades. He led the Graphics Workshop for Professionals at the Pratt Institute Graphic Art Center in New York for about ten years, beginning in 1960. During his tenure there, he influenced the rising generation of Abstract Expressionists.
Barooshian served as the president of the Society of American Graphic Artists, and was active in the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).