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Photo: Randy Dodson; © Courtesy the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
D0154
[Nighttime, Enigma, and Nostalgia: Objects]
1932
Graphite pencil on paper
19 1/4 x 24 3/4 in. (48.9 x 62.9 cm)
Recto, in pencil, upper right: Gorky
Verso not inscribed
Verso not inscribed
Provenance
Exhibitions
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Arshile Gorky Memorial Exhibition, January 5–February 18, 1951, no. 65, p. 48, dated c. 1932. Traveled to: Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, March 4–April 22, 1951; San Francisco Museum of Art, California, May 9–July 9, 1951.
Museum of Modern Art, New York, International Council (organizer), Arshile Gorky Drawings, 1962–68, MoMA no. 62.1044, as "Untitled Drawing," dated c. 1932, [Tokyo: no. 10, ill. in b/w; Germany: no. 10; UK: no. 10; Rotterdam: no. 31; Vienna: no. 10; Lisbon: no. 10; Oslo: no. 10; Lund: no. 10; Basel: no. 10; Zagreb: no. 10; Rome: no. 10, ill. in b/w; Buenos Aires: no. 10; Caracas: no. 10; Bogotá: no. 10; Mexico City: no. 10]. Traveled to: Newcomb College, Tulane University, New Orleans, September 23–October 14, 1962; Chatham College, Pittsburgh, October 29–November 19, 1962; Watkins Institute, Nashville, January 9–30, 1963; Spiva Art Center, Joplin, Missouri, February 7–28, 1963; Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, Massachusetts, March 15–April 5, 1963; Marshall College, Huntington, West Virginia, April 22–May 13, 1963; Seibu Gallery, Seibu Department Store, Tokyo, July 26–August 11, 1963; Westmar College, LeMars, Iowa, September 2–23, 1963; Washington University, Saint Louis, October 4–25, 1963; Arts Club of Chicago, November 10–December 15, 1963; Indiana University, Bloomington, January 2–23, 1964; Wells College, Aurora, New York, February 7–28, 1964; Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, March 16–April 6, 1964; Jewish Museum, New York, April 21–June 30, 1964; Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe, Germany, July 6–August 5, 1964; Hamburger Kunstverein, Hamburg, Germany, August 7–September 4, 1964; Amerika Haus, Berlin, September 11–October 6, 1964; Folkwangmuseum, Essen, Germany, October 15–November 15, 1964; York City Art Gallery, United Kingdom, December 5–30, 1964; Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, January 6–February 13, 1965; Midland Group Gallery, Nottingham, United Kingdom, February 20–March 6, 1965; City Art Gallery, Bristol, United Kingdom, March 13–April 3, 1965; National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, April 10–May 1, 1965; Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels, May 27–June 27, 1965; Boymans-van-Beuningen, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, July 24–September 5, 1965; Museum des 20ten Jahrhunderts, Vienna, September 18–October 17, 1965; Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes, Lisbon, November 23–December 23, 1965; Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, January 22–February 13, 1966; Lunds Konsthall, Lund, Sweden, March 5–April 1, 1966; Öffentliche Kunstmuseum, Basel, Switzerland, April 30–June 5, 1966; Galerija Grada Zagreba, Zagreb, Yugoslavia, June 21–July 10, 1966; Galerija Doma Omladine, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, October 6–16, 1966; Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Rome, April 2–May 15, 1967; Centro de Artes Visuales del Instituto Torcuato di Tella, Buenos Aires, November 29–December 23, 1967 (as Sobre papel: Obras de Arshile Gorky); Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, January 21–February 14, 1968; Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango, Bogotá, Colombia, March 21–April 5, 1968; Galeria Universitaria Aristos, Mexico City, May 3–June 5, 1968.
Arts Council of Great Britain, London (organizer), Arshile Gorky, Paintings and Drawings / Arshile Gorky: Schilderijen en Tekeningen, 1965, no. 31, as "Tekening zonder titel / Untitled drawing," dated c. 1932. Traveled to: Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, May 22–June 27, 1965; Museum Boymans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, July 24–September 5, 1965 (Museum Boymans van Beuingen 1965).
M. Knoedler & Co. Inc, New York, Gorky: Drawings, November 25–December 27, 1969. (Exhibition catalogue: Jordan 1969), no. 17, ill. in b/w, p. 22; p. 55, as "Drawing".
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honor, San Francisco, Judging by Appearance: Master Drawings from the Collection of Joseph and Deborah Goldyne, March 4–June 4, 2006, no. 93, ill. in color, p. 206; detail ill. in color, p. 8, as "Drawing for Nighttime, Enigma and Nostalgia". Traveled to: Minneapolis Institute of Art, February 10–April 29, 2007.
Literature
Richard York Gallery. An American Gallery, Volume VII. New York: Richard York Gallery, 1992, no. 29, ill. in color, as "Drawing for Nighttime, Enigma and Nostalgia".
Bonetti, David. "Arts Gifts for Bay Area Museums." San Francisco Examiner, December 24, 1996, discussed p. C3, as "Nighttime, Enigma and Nostalgia".
Notes
Watermark / Stamp: Michallet
Michallet paper with watermark, lower left: MICHALLET / [FRANCE]
Verso, in pencil, lower left [not in artist's hand]: GE_8 [check mark]; upper right: Top ↑; GE_8; 23 [circled]; lower right: 24 x 30 / 18 1/2 x 24 [line] / [illegible] 1/2 _ 6; E; 7 [circled] / 62.1044
The verso inscription information and marking are known from a photograph provided by the de Young Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
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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