Zorthian went through two Turkish massacres before age eight. He left Turkey at age nine with his family and spent a year in Padua, Italy, waiting for his visa to open to the United States. This period was very important in his life because his father took him to many cities in Europe and exposed him to great works of art. Zorthian arrived in the United States at the age of eleven and settled with his family in New Haven, Connecticut. He obtained his formal education there. After graduating from Yale, the Winchester Fellowship granted him a year and a half at the American Academy in Rome with travel and study throughout Europe.
His art career branched into various directions on his return to the United States. As a mural painter his reputation was established. He has forty two (42) murals throughout the United States. Other aspects of his art career included forty seven years of constructing and designing buildings. Zorthian was also extensivley involved in architecture and design.
