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Photo: Jochen Littkemann; © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie
D1083
[Drawing, 'Untitled']
1944
Crayon and graphite pencil on lavender-edged paper
19 1/4 x 25 3/8 in. (48.9 x 64.5 cm)
Recto not inscribed
Verso not seen
Verso not seen
Provenance
Private collection (1975)
Exhibitions
M. Knoedler & Co. Inc, New York, Gorky: Drawings, November 25–December 27, 1969. (Exhibition catalogue: Jordan 1969), no. 78, ill. in b/w, p. 38; p. 58, as "Drawing".
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Arshile Gorky 1904–1948: A Retrospective, April 24–July 19, 1981, no. 179, ill. in b/w, p. 204, as "Untitled". Traveled to: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, September 12–November 6, 1981; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, December 3, 1981–February 28, 1982.
Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy, Affinities: Works from the Ulla and Heiner Pietzsch Collection, Berlin, June 4–September 18, 2005, ill. in color, p. 154, as "Study for Untitled".
BA-CA Kunstforum, Vienna, Verrückte Liebe: Von Dalí bis Francis Bacon, Surreale Kunst aus der Sammlung Ulla und Heiner Pietzsch, March 8–June 18, 2006, no. 94, ill. in color, p. 171, as "Untitled - Study for Painting".
Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Bilder Träume: Die Sammlung Ulla und Heiner Pietzsch, June 19–November 22, 2009, ill. in color, p. 248, as "Untitled (Study for Untitled)".
Literature
Jordan, Jim M. "The Paintings of Arshile Gorky: New Discoveries, New Sources, and Chronology." In The Paintings of Arshile Gorky: A Critical Catalogue, by Jim M. Jordan and Robert Goldwater. New York and London: New York University Press, 1982, fig. 11, ill. in b/w, p. 86; discussed p. 85, as "Drawing".
Corrin, Lisa. "Toward Armenia: Notes of a Journey." In Arshile Gorky: 1904–1948. London: Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1990. Exhibition catalogue, fig. 1, ill. in b/w, p. 173, as "Untitled".
Pietzsch, Ulla and Heiner Pietzsch. Leben mit Kunst: Sammlung Ulla und Heiner Pietzsch. Berlin: H. Pietzsch, 2000, ill. in color, p. 279, as "Untitled".
Maike Steinkamp and Emily Joyce Evans, eds. Die Sammlung der Nationalgalerie 1905–1945. Berlin: 2 Bände, 2021, discussed p. 276; ill. in color, p. 277, as "Studie für 'Ohne Titel'".
Notes
Watermark / Stamp: Strathmore
The drawing is on Strathmore "Fiesta" paper. According to extant Strathmore “Fiesta” sample booklets, the sheet’s deckled-edges would have originally been tinted mulberry, but the mulberry ink has apparently lightened to lavender. “Fiesta” paper, available at 26 x 40 inches a sheet, had colored, deckled edges at top and bottom, and in a variety of colors. The drawing's approximately 20 x 26 inches are the result of the original sheet being halved down its center. It is one of ten known drawings by Gorky on this type of support.
Recto, in pencil, lower right [by Agnes Gorky Phillips]: A. Gorky
Commentary
The drawing's overall composition is directly related to an untitled painting by Gorky dating to 1944 (see related work).
Related Work
