Quick on the draw

Carolina Beresford celebrates the life and work of the late Sophie Sivrisarian, an artist who made her mark on the polo world with her irreverent portraits

Sophie Sivrisarian was the daughter of Armenian immigrants who settled in Hurlingham, Argentina, in 1938, when she was five years old. She began drawing high-goal polo players at Buenos Aires’ illustrious Hurlingham Club when she was just 13. Her distinctive style caught the attention of many, though not always favourably.

‘One of the first pictures Sophie drew was of Charly Menditeguy,’ says Pepe Santamarina, president of polo at the Hurlingham Club. ‘He was a 10-goal superstar and a complete character; he took one look at the drawing and ripped it in half. He didn’t like it at all.’ Nor did her father, for that matter. Sarkis Sivrisarian did not fancy his only daughter as an artist.

Undeterred, and with no formal artistic training, Sivrisarian continued to depict polo greats exactly as she saw them. ‘She thought her drawings were realistic; she did not set out to draw caricatures,’ says Santamarina. ‘If she saw a distinctive feature, she became very motivated to draw that person. She didn’t draw with the intention of being funny or to mock the sitter; her art portrays her vision of reality.’

It wasn’t until Sivrisarian turned 26 that her work started to be taken seriously and she began to receive commissions. One of her most celebrated drawings depicts the 1966 British (Commonwealth) squad travelling to Argentina to compete in the prestigious Nation’s Cup. Coach Raja Hanut Singh, mounted on a highly polished chestnut mare, is followed by the Marquis of Waterford and his brother Lord Patrick Beresford, with Patrick Kemple, Sinclair Hill, Ronnie Ferguson and Paul Withers bringing up the rear on a dwarfed dappled grey, alongside Hanut’s companion, Beryl Hill. Guardian angel Lord Cowdray dispenses coins from above.

‘It’s my favourite drawing of hers,’ shares Santamarina. ‘The image tells a funny narrative. Sophie recalled how Lord Cowdray had to rush back to England halfway through the tournament to gather funds for the club. In those days, it was an honour for Sophie to draw you. Many great English players of the 1960s were drawn by her and it’s not uncommon to see her caricatures framed in their country houses.’ Sivrisarian’s passion for horses also attracted her to the Criollo art of Argentina. She identified strongly with Argentine culture and, although born in London, the artist often stated that she didn’t have a drop of English in her. ‘She always dressed like a gaucho!’ laughs Santamarina. ‘She knew more about local culture than most Argentines do. She became great friends with Dicky and Frances Santamarina, my great-uncle and great-aunt, and spent much time at their farm, La Fortuna. It was there she began to draw gauchos. I know that her favourite drawing was one of three gauchos as the Three Wise Men.’

On Sivrisarian’s death earlier this year, her beloved Hurlingham Club inherited all her remaining drawings. A permanent exhibition of her works will be on display at the club, just as they are at the Polo Hall of Fame in Florida, in the Bagatelle club in Paris, and in Rajasthan, at the family seat of the late Rao Raja Hanut Singh. Each one is an eternal tribute to a fearless artist with a particular point of view.

Clockwise, from left Sivrisarian in 2003; ‘Three Wise Men’; her depictions of the British (Commonwealth) and USA squads, 1966