Arshile Gorky Catalogue Raisonné
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Catalogue Entry

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Photo: Peter Schälchli
D0155
[Nighttime, Enigma, and Nostalgia: Objects]
c. 1931–33
Ink and graphite pencil on paper
18 7/8 x 24 in. (47.9 x 61 cm)
Not inscribed
Arshile Gorky Foundation
Exhibitions
2012a New York
Pace Gallery, New York, Mythology, February 22–April 14, 2012, ill. in color, p. 31, as "Untitled (Nighttime, Enigma and Nostalgia)," dated c. 1932.
Literature
Kerr 2014
Kerr, Melissa. Arshile Gorky: Drawings from the Thirties. Brussels: Patrick Derom Gallery, 2014. Monograph, no. 7, ill. in color, p. 23; ill. in color (detail), p. 6; ill. in color, front cover, as "Untitled (Nighttime, Enigma and Nostalgia)," dated c. 1932–34.
Wilkin 2025
Wilkin, Karen. "Arshile Gorky Drawings." The Hopkins Review (Baltimore) 18, no. 3 (Summer 2025), ill. in color, p. 78, as "Untitled (Nighttime, Enigma, and Nostalgia: Objects)".
Notes
Watermark / Stamp: Schoellershammer
Schoellershammer paper with blindstamp, upper left: DRAWINGART / REGISTERED / GERMANY

Verso, upper left [not in artist's hand]: No 142 [upside down]; lower left: Maro 54; [by Agnes Gorky Phillips]: Arshile Gorky by AGP; upper right [not in artist's hand]: 109

The verso inscription information and marking are known from the records of Melvin P. Lader.

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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