Untitled

c. 1944

Arshile Gorky

Associated Names
Arshile Gorky

Artist, American, born Van Province, Ottoman Empire (now Turkey), c. 1904 - 1948

The image contains irregular shapes and bold, curved lines intersecting on a gridded background. Among the composition are shapes resembling a bird's beak or a fish's mouth, along with a figure on the right that could be interpreted as a seated person with wings. Red, black, and blue colors mix within the forms, with squiggly lines suggesting movement or energy.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    graphite and crayon on wove paper, squared for transfer

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 48.5 x 61 cm (19 1/8 x 24 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1979.13.5

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Costello, No.D1064

  • Copyright

    © 1997 The Estate of Arshile Gorky / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Estate of Arshile Gorky (1948);to M. Knoedler & Co. Inc., New York, March 14,1969;to Estate of Arshile Gorky, after December 1969; to Fourcade Droll Inc., New York, after February 1972; to Xavier Fourcade Inch., New York, 1976; to National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., February 7, 1979.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1962

  • Arshile Gorky Drawings, 1962–68, Museum of Modern Art, New York, International Council (organizer), MoMA no. 62.1055, as "Untitled Drawing," dated 1944–45, [Tokyo: no. 23, ill. in b/w; Germany: no. 22; UK: no. 24; Rotterdam: likely no. 82; Vienna: no. 22; Lisbon: no. 22; Oslo: no. 22; Lund: no. 22; Basel: no. 24; Zagreb: no. 24; Rome: no. 24, ill. in b/w; Buenos Aires: no. 25; Caracas: no. 25; Bogotá: no. 25; Mexico City: no. 25].

1969

  • Gorky: Drawings, M. Knoedler & Co. Inc, New York, November 25–December 27, 1969. (Exhibition catalogue: Jordan 1969), no. 90, ill. in b/w, p. 41; p. 59, as "Drawing," dated 1944–45.

1978

  • American Art at Mid-Century: The Subjects of the Artist, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1978-1979.

1981

  • Contemporary American Prints and Drawings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1981, unnumbered brochure.

2006

  • Arshile Gorky, Fresno Art Museum, 2006.

Bibliography

1978

  • Carmean, E.A., Jr. and Eliza E. Rathbone. American Art at Mid-Century: The Subjects of the Artist. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, 1978: fig.27.

Inscriptions

across top: (numbers 1-8); vertical along left edge: (numbers 1-7); in later hand, upper right verso in blue ink: 45 / Agnes Phillips collection

Markings

None.

Watermarks

None.

Wikidata ID

Q64536487

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