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Arshile Gorky Catalogue Raisonné

Catalogue Entry

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Photo: Peter Schälchli
D0150
[Nighttime, Enigma, and Nostalgia: Objects]
c. 1931–33
Ink on paper
22 7/16 x 28 3/8 in. (57 x 72 cm)
Recto not inscribed
Verso not seen
Private collection
Provenance
Estate of Arshile Gorky (1948)
Private collection (1975)
[Hauser & Wirth (March 2017)]
Private collection (2017)
Exhibitions
1978–80 Newark
Newark Museum, New Jersey, Murals without Walls: Arshile Gorky's Aviation Murals Rediscovered, November 15, 1978–March 11, 1979. (Exhibition catalogue: O'Connor 1978b), no. 9, ill. in b/w, p. 71, as "Nighttime, Enigma and Nostalgia," dated c. 1934. Traveled to: Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester, New York, July 1–August 26, 1979; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., October 4–November 25, 1979; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, December 23, 1979–February 3, 1980; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 28–April 20, 1980; Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, California, May 10–June 22, 1980; Queens Museum, New York, September 6–November 2, 1980.
1990–92 Lausanne
Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland, Arshile Gorky: Œuvres sur Papier, 1929–1947; Arbeiten auf Papier, 1929–1947, September 21–November 11, 1990, no. 6, ill. in b/w, p. 51; p. 193, as "Etude pour Nighttime, Enigma and Nostalgia / Studie zu Nighttime, Enigma and Nostalgia," dated 1931–32. Traveled to: Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna, January 16–February 27, 1991; Musée Cantini, Marseille, France, March 15–May 30, 1991; Musée d'art Moderne de Saint Étienne, France, June 20–September 2, 1991; Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt, September 25–November 10, 1991; Kunsthalle Bremen, Germany, November 19, 1991–January 26, 1992.
1992–93 Venice
Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy, Arshile Gorky: Works on Paper / Opere su Carta, April–June 28, 1992, no. 2, ill. in b/w, p. 41, as "Study for Nighttime, Enigma and Nostalgia / Studio per Notturno Enigma e Nostalgia," dated c. 1932. Traveled to: Palazzo delle Esponsizioni, Rome, October 14–November 30, 1992; Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Centro de Arte Moderna José Azeredo Perdigão, Lisbon, July 21–August 27, 1993.
Notes

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). 

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