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Verso, in pencil, lower left [not in artist's hand]: #2333; lower center: #12730; in brown ink, upper right [by Jacob Kainen]: Arshile Gorky 1934 / Collection: Jacob Kainen / Received from the artist, 1934; in pencil, lower right [not in artist's hand]: 2012.92.502
The verso inscription information and marking are known from a photograph provided by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Commentary
In 1929, Gorky began a series of abstract works which is now referred to as "Nighttime, Enigma, and Nostalgia." While he continued working on this until 1936, it was between 1931 and 1934 when he was most dedicated to developing the composition. Ultimately, he produced nearly one hundred drawings and three related paintings. The body of work can be divided into subsets, such as Objects and Enigma, which were Gorky's own titles, as well as the posthumously titled "Fish and Head," "Column with Objects" and "Écorché." This drawing is part of the subset Objects, of which there are thirty-two known examples. Its title derives from that which Gorky gave to the drawing D0140, when it was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in January 1941 (see that work's commentary).
The drawing's first owner was Gorky's friend, the artist Jacob Kainen (1909–2001). In the fall of 1934, Kainen sat for a portrait by Gorky (P116). Kainen recalls that there were eight sessions—one per week—and, in December 1934, when Gorky no longer needed him to model, he gave Kainen two ink drawings in gratitude.1 One was this drawing which Kainen later realized was unsigned. As a result, he inscribed the verso himself.
1. Jacob Kainen, "Posing for Gorky: A Memoir of the New York Master," The Washington Post (June 10, 1979): L4.
