(The Artist's Mother)

c. 1926-1938

Arshile Gorky

Associated Names
Arshile Gorky

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

A woman’s face, head covering, and upper shoulders are drawn with bold outlines on this vertical, cream-colored paper. Her body is squared to us but it’s hard to tell whether she looks at us or just past us. She has an oval face with wide, large eyes under arched brows, a straight nose, and her lips are closed. Her hair is covered with a cloth, and the contours of her shoulders and clothing are sparsely outlined. There is loose shading under eyes, to each side of her nose, along the underside of one cheekbone, and in the head covering to our left.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    graphite on coquille board

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    Overall: 27.8 x 18.8 cm (10 15/16 x 7 3/8 in.)
    support: 34 x 26.5 cm (13 3/8 x 10 7/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1981.100.1

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Costello, No.D1565

  • Copyright

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

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

the artist; Lenore Gallet Portnoff, New York, NY, c.1938-1940; (M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York, September 23, 1969); M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York, c. March 1973; Edgar Bronfman, New York, NY, July 1975; Private collection, New York, NY, July 1975; (Christie, Manson & Woods International Inc., New York, NY, Contemporary Drawings, Watercolors and Collages, November 19, 1981, lot 231); National Gallery of Art, 1981.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1969

  • The Drawings of Arshile Gorky, J. Millard Tawes Fine Arts Center, University of Maryland Art Department and Art Gallery, College Park, March 20–April 27, 1969. (Exhibition catalogue: Joyner 1969), no. 4 (Portrait and Figure Drawings), p. 55; fig. 6, ill. in b/w, p. 27, as "Portrait of the Artist's Mother," dated c. 1938.

  • Gorky: Drawings, M. Knoedler & Co. Inc, New York, November 25–December 27, 1969. (Exhibition catalogue: Jordan 1969), no. 48, ill. in b/w, p. 31; p. 57, as "Portrait of the Artist's Mother," dated c. 1938.

1975

  • Arshile Gorky: Works on Paper, M. Knoedler & Co. Inc, New York, January 9–February 1, 1975, no. 10, as "Portrait of the Artist's Mother".

2002

  • Arshile Gorky Portraits, Gagosian Gallery, New York, 2002, unnumbered catalogue reproduction.

Bibliography

1969

  • Joyner, B., & University of Maryland, C. Park. A. G. The drawings of Arshile Gorky. University of Maryland Art Department and Art Gallery, 1969: pg.27.

  • Jordan, J. M., & M. Knoedler & Co.Gorky: drawings. M. Knoedler & Co., Inc, 1969.

1980

  • Rand, Harry.Arshile Gorky: the implications of symbols. Allanehld & Scharam, Montcalir, NJ, 1980: fig. 2-7.

2002

  • Arshile Gorky Portraits. Exh. cat. Gagosian Gallery, New York, 2002: p. 32.

2009

  • Taylor, Michael R. ed. Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective. Exh. cat., Philadelphia Museum of Art; Tate Modern, London, England; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 2009-2010, 45, fig. 32, not exhibited.

2021

  • The Arshile Gorky Foundation. Catalogue Entries. Arshile Gorky Catalogue Raisonné. Accessed June 10, 2026. https://www.gorkycatalogue.org/catalogue/.

Inscriptions

None.

Markings

None.

Watermarks

None.

Wikidata ID

Q64536489

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