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Photo: Paul Hester; © The Menil Collection, Houston
D1117
(Untitled)
1944
Graphite pencil and crayon on paper
19 x 24 in. (48.3 x 61 cm)
Recto, in pencil, lower left: A. Gorky / 44
Verso not inscribed
Verso not inscribed
Provenance
Private collection (2002)
Private collection (2008)
Exhibitions
1945a New York possibly
Julien Levy Gallery, New York, Arshile Gorky, March 6–31, 1945 (Exhibition brochure: Breton 1945b)Sidney Janis Gallery, New York, Late Drawings by Gorky, September 28–October 24, 1959 (Exhibition catalogue: Sidney Janis Gallery 1959), no. 4, ill. in b/w, as "Drawing".
M. Knoedler & Co. Inc, New York, Gorky, de Kooning, Newman, June 26–September 20, 1969, as "Landscape".
M. Knoedler & Co. Inc, New York, Gorky: Drawings, November 25–December 27, 1969 (Exhibition catalogue: Jordan 1969), no. 80, ill. in b/w, p. 38; p. 59, as "Landscape".
Dunkelman Gallery, Toronto, Arshile Gorky, 1904–1948, October 14–20, 1972, no. 21, ill. in b/w, as "Untitled".
Städtische Kunsthalle, Düsseldorf, Surrealität-Bildrealität, 1924–1974, December 8, 1974–February 2, 1975, no. 107, p. 82; ill. in b/w, p. 170, as "Untitled / Ohne Titel". Traveled to: Staatliche Kunsthalle, Baden-Baden, Germany, February 14–April 13, 1975.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Arshile Gorky 1904–1948: A Retrospective, April 24–July 19, 1981, no. 177c, [not in catalogue]. Traveled to: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, September 12–November 6, 1981; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, December 3, 1981–February 28, 1982.
Thomas Ammann Fine Art AG, Zurich, Impressionism & 20th Century Masters: Selected Works from the Collection of Asher B. Edelman, June 17–September 18, 1987, no. 7, ill. in color, as "Untitled".
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, American Images: The SBC Collection of Twentieth Century American Art, November 9, 1997–January 25, 1998, no. 61, ill. in color, p. 132, as "Untitled". Traveled to: Austin Museum of Art, Texas, February 14–May 10, 1998; Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, June 13–September 5, 1998; El Paso Museum of Art, Texas, September 25–December 1998.
Menil Collection, Houston, Late Surrealism, May 24–August 25, 2013, as "Untitled".
Literature
Schwabacher, Ethel. Arshile Gorky. New York: The Macmillan Company for the Whitney Museum of American Art, 1957. Monograph, fig. 37, ill. in b/w, p. 85, as "Drawing".
Paintings by Arshile Gorky from 1929 to 1948. New York: Sidney Janis Gallery, 1962. Exhibition catalogue (1962b New York), no. 30, ill. in b/w (in situ), as "View, Gorky Exhibition of Drawings, October 1959".
Levy, Julien. Arshile Gorky. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1966. Monograph, pl. 125, ill. in b/w, p. 149, as "Drawing".
Ashton, Dore. "The Adventures of the New York School." In American Images: The SBC Collection of Twentieth Century American Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1996. Exhibition catalogue, fig. 31, ill. in b/w (detail), p. 121, as "Untitled".
Devaney, Edith. "Repossessing Nature." In Ardent Nature: Arshile Gorky Landscapes, 1943–47. Zurich: Hauser & Wirth Publishers, 2017. Exhibition catalogue, ill. in color, p. 109, as "Untitled".
Spender, Saskia and Edith Devaney. Ardent Nature: Arshile Gorky Landscapes, 1943–47. Zurich: Hauser & Wirth Publishers, 2017. Exhibition catalogue (2017 New York), ill. in color, p. 109; p. 138, as "Untitled".
Notes
Verso, in pencil, upper right [not in artist's hand]: No. 8; 18 5/8 x 23 [illegible] [sideways]; lower right: Julien Levy; 6 [circled] [sideways]; 123-; in blue pen: J.L. 22; / in pencil: J.L. 22
The verso inscription information and marking are known from the records of the Arshile Gorky Foundation.
Commentary
Having reduced his activity as a dealer during the early years of the war, Julien Levy (1906–1981) moved his gallery to its final location, 42 East 57th Street, in March 1943. He signed a contract with Gorky in December 1944. Levy had known Gorky for over ten years at this point, without having shown an interest in representing his work. He offered the artist a contract following a recommendation from André Breton (1896–1966), who promised to write an introductory essay to Gorky’s debut solo show, which opened in March 1945.1
This drawing is among the first selection of works that Levy received from the artist on December 21, 1944, and, based on this fact, it is probable, though unconfirmed, that it was included in the 1945 exhibition.
1. Julien Levy Gallery, New York, Arshile Gorky, March 6–31, 1945.
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