Akop Gurdjan (also Hakob Gyurjyan) was born in Shusha (Nagorno-Karabakh). In 1907-1910, he studied at the Académie Julian in Paris and also worked in Rodin's studio. From 1908, he took part in exhibitions organized by the Association nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

Between 1914 and 1921, he worked in Moscow (Vladimir Lenin was present at the inauguration of a monument created by Akop Gurdjan). In 1921, he returned to Paris and obtained French citizenship.

A prolific sculptor, he covered a wide range of subjects, but is best known for creating over 300 portrait busts (Sergei Rachmaninoff, Ludwig van Beethoven). His works have been exhibited in Tokyo, Oslo, Moscow and many other cities. During his lifetime, he had solo exhibitions in New York and Paris.

In 1948, he died in Paris at the age of 67. As stipulated in Gurdjan's will, in 1958, his widow bequeathed 400 works and his archives to Yeravan, the capital of Armenia.

In 1959, a retrospective exhibition was held at the State Gallery of Armenia (now the National Gallery of Armenia). The Centre Pompidou in Paris has a work by Akop Gurdjan in its collection.