Arshile Gorky Catalogue Raisonné
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Photo: Alex Jamison; © Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
P111
(Portrait of Vartoosh)
c. 1935–37
Oil on canvas
20 1/4 x 15 1/8 in. (51.4 x 38.4 cm)
Front, incised, upper left: A. Gorky / [paraph]; lower left: A. Gorky / XXII
Reverse not seen
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.,
Gift of the Joseph H. Hirshhorn Foundation (66.2148)
Exhibitions
1951a New York
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Arshile Gorky Memorial Exhibition, January 5–February 18, 1951, no. 1, p. 46, as "Portrait of Vartoosh," dated 1922. Traveled to: Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, March 4–April 22, 1951; San Francisco Museum of Art, California, May 9–July 9, 1951.
1952 Princeton
Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey, Arshile Gorky: A Loan Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings, October 6–26, 1952, no. 1, as "Portrait of Vartoosh," dated 1922.
1954c New York
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, Two Lyric Abstractionists: Gorky, Works of the Middle Period / Trökes, Recent Gouaches and Drawings, March 31–April 24, 1954, no. 45, as "Portrait of Vartoosh".
1962–63b New York
Museum of Modern Art, New York, Arshile Gorky, 1904–1948, December 19, 1962–February 12, 1963. (Exhibition catalogue: Seitz 1962), no. 10, ill. in b/w, p. 14; p. 53, as "Portrait of Vartoosh," dated c. 1933. Traveled to: Washington Gallery of Modern Art, D.C., March 12–April 14, 1963.
1965 AC–Brussels and Rotterdam
Arts Council of Great Britain, London (organizer), Arshile Gorky, Paintings and Drawings / Arshile Gorky: Schilderijen en Tekeningen, 1965, no. 13, ill. in b/w, as "Portret van Vartoosh / Portrait of Vartoosh," dated c. 1930. 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).
1965 AC–London
Arts Council of Great Britain, London (organizer), Tate Gallery, Arshile Gorky: Paintings and Drawings, April 2–May 2, 1965, no. 12, ill. in b/w, as "Portrait of Vartoosh," dated c. 1930.
1976b Washington, D.C.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., The Golden Door: Artist Immigrants of America 1876–1976, May 20–October 20, 1976, no. 66, ill. in b/w, p. 195, as "Portrait of Vartoosh".
1979 Washington, D.C.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., Arshile Gorky: The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection, October 4–November 25, 1979, no. 4, ill. in color, p. 11; ill. in b/w, p. 21; p. 43, as "Portrait of Vartoosh," dated mid- to late 1930s.
1981–82 New York
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Arshile Gorky 1904–1948: A Retrospective, April 24–July 19, 1981, no. 66, ill. in b/w, p. 114, as "Portrait of Vartoosh," dated mid to late 1930s. Traveled to: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, September 12–November 6, 1981; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, December 3, 1981–February 28, 1982.
1987–88 Washington, D.C.
Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., John Graham: Artist and Avatar, July 9–September 4, 1988, no. 80, ill. in b/w, p. 37, as "Portrait of Vartoosh," dated c. 1933–34. Traveled to: Neuberger Museum, State University of New York at Purchase, June 25–September 12, 1987; Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, California, October 23, 1987–January 3, 1988; University Art Museum, University of California, Berkeley, January 20–March 20, 1988; David and Alfred Smart Gallery, University of Chicago, April 14–June 12, 1988.
1989–90 Madrid
Sala de Exposiciones de la Fundación Caja de Pensiones, Madrid, Arshile Gorky, 1904–1948, October 17–December 23, 1989, no. 8, ill. in color, p. 73, as "Portrait of Vartoosh," dated 1933–34. Traveled to: Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, January 19–March 25, 1990.
2002d New York
Gagosian Gallery, New York, Arshile Gorky: Portraits, March 20–April 27, 2002. (Exhibition catalogue: Gagosian Gallery 2002), ill. in color, pp. 62–63, as "Portrait of Vartoosh," dated c. 1933–34.
2006 Fresno
Fresno Art Museum and the Armenian Museum (organizers), Fresno Art Museum, California, Vosdanik Manouk Adoian a.k.a. Arshile Gorky, April 7–June 4, 2006, no. 7, ill. in color, p. 25; p. 50, as "Portrait of Vartoosh," dated c. 1933–34.
2009–10 Philadelphia
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective, October 15, 2009–January 10, 2010. (Exhibition catalogue: Taylor 2009a), pl. 25, ill. in color, p. 185; p. 387, as "Portrait of Vartoosh," dated 1933–34, [exhibited in Philadelphia only]. Traveled to: Tate Modern, London, February 10–May 3, 2010 (Gale 2010); Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, June 6–September 20, 2010 (Gale 2010).
Literature
Coates 1951
Coates, Robert M. "The Art Galleries: Moderns—Past and Present." The New Yorker 26, no. 48 (January 20, 1951), discussed p. 60, as "portrait of his sister Vartoosh".
Genauer 1951
Genauer, Emily. "Art and Artists: The Whitney's Memorial Exhibit and the Arshile Gorky Tragedy." New York Herald Tribune, January 7, 1951, discussed p. 9, "The earliest picture in the show, a 1922 portrait of his sister, is straight blue-period Picasso."
Devree 1951a
Devree, Howard. "Whitney to Offer Arshile Gorky Art: Memorial Show of Paintings and Drawings Opens at the Museum Tomorrow." New York Times, January 4, 1951, discussed, p. 27, as "a portrait of his sister dated 1922".
Devree 1951b
Devree, Howard. "A Memorable Year: The Modern Movement at Its 1913 Pitch—The Whitney's Gorky Memorial." New York Times, January 7, 1951, discussed, sec. 2, p. 9, as "the flatly realistic portrait of a sister in 1922".
Schwabacher 1957
Schwabacher, Ethel. Arshile Gorky. Introduction by Meyer Schapiro. New York: The Macmillan Company for the Whitney Museum of American Art, 1957. Monograph, fig. 1, ill. in b/w, p. 24, as "Portrait of Vartoosh," dated 1922.
Barilli 1961
Barilli, Renato. "La Pittura di Arshile Gorky." La Biennale 43 (April–June 1961), ill. in b/w, p. 13, as "Portrait of Vartoosh".
Reiff 1961
Reiff, Robert F. "A Stylistic Analysis of Arshile Gorky's Art from 1943–1948." Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, New York, 1961, fig. 2, ill. in b/w, p. 280, as "Portrait of Vartoosh".
Lichtblau 1962
Lichtblau, Charlotte. "Gorky retrospective." Philadelphia Inquirer, December 23, 1962, ill. in b/w, p. 6, as "Portrait of Vartoosh".
Cheshire 1963
Cheshire, Maxine. "To Broaden Knowledge of Modern Art New Frontier Wives Give Guided Tours." The Washington Post (Washington, D.C.), March 14, 1963, ill. in b/w, p. E1, installation photograph.
Levy 1966
Levy, Julien. Arshile Gorky. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1966. Monograph, pl. 26, ill. in color, p. 50, as "Portrait of Vartoosh," dated c. 1933.
Morgan 1981
Morgan, S. "Becoming Arshile Gorky." Artscribe (London), no. 31 (October 1981), ill. in b/w, p. 19, as "Portrait of Vartoosh".
Rand 1981
Rand, Harry. Arshile Gorky: The Implication of Symbols. Montclair, NJ: Allanheld, Osmun & Co. Publishers Inc., and London: George Prior Associated Publishers Ltd., 1981. Monograph, fig. 2–1, ill. in b/w, p. 13, as "Portrait of Vartoosh".
Waldman 1981
Waldman, Diane. "Arshile Gorky: Poet in Paint." In Arshile Gorky 1904–1948: A Retrospective. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. in collaboration with The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 1981. Exhibition catalogue, discussed p. 33, as "Portrait of Vartoosh".
Jordan 1982a
Jordan, Jim M. "The Paintings of Arshile Gorky: New Discoveries, New Sources, and Chronology." In The Paintings of Arshile Gorky: A Critical Catalogue, by Jim M. Jordan and Robert Goldwater. New York and London: New York University Press, 1982, discussed pp. 49–51, 56, 76, as "Portrait of Vartoosh".
Jordan 1982b
Jordan, Jim M. "Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings." In The Paintings of Arshile Gorky: A Critical Catalogue, by Jim M. Jordan and Robert Goldwater. New York and London: New York University Press, 1982, no. 111, ill. in b/w, pp. 238–39, as "Portrait of Vartoosh".
Lader 1985
Lader, Melvin P. Arshile Gorky. New York: Abbeville Press, 1985. Monograph, fig. 53, ill. in color, p. 58, as "Portrait of Vartoosh".
Rand 1991
Rand, Harry. Arshile Gorky: The Implication of Symbols. Rev. ed. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1991. Monograph, fig. 2–1, ill. in b/w, p. 15, as "Portrait of Vartoosh".
Herrera 2003
Herrera, Hayden. Arshile Gorky: His Life and Work. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2003, fig. 25, ill. in color, as "Portrait of Vartoosh".
Kolbe 2009
Kolbe, Regina. "Dreams Form The Bristles Of The Artist's Brush: Arshile Gorky, The Last Great Surrealist." Antiques and The Arts Weekly (Newton, CT) (October 23, 2009), ill. in color, p. 69, as "Portrait of Vartoosh".
Mattison 2009
Matttison, Robert S. Arshile Gorky: Works and Writings. Barcelona: Ediciones Polígrafica, 2009. Monograph, ill. in color, p. 15, as "Portrait of Vartoosh".
Theriault 2009a
Theriault, Kim S. Rethinking Arshile Gorky. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2009. Monograph, pl. 5, ill. in color, as "Portrait of Vartoosh".
Agee 2012
Agee, William C. "Graham, Gorky, de Kooning: A New Classicism, an Alternate Modernism." In American Vanguards: Graham, Davis, Gorky, de Kooning, and Their Circle, 1927–1942. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2012. Exhibition catalogue, fig. 44, ill. in color, p. 139, as "Portrait of Vartoosh".
Notes

The painting is inscribed at lower left in black paint with flourishes in white paint.

The canvas was relined.

Commentary

The titling of this painting is less complicated than the majority of the seventeen paintings that Joseph H. Hirshhorn (1899–1981) purchased directly from the artist between 1941 and 1943. The variation in the Hirshhorn's titles originates from a list of Hirshhorn's purchases thought to have been composed by the artist's wife Agnes "Mougouch" Gorky (1921–2013), and dated March 20, 1943. On this list, the painting is titled Portrait of My Sister, Vartoosh.1 When the painting entered the collection of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in 1966, it was assigned the title Portrait of Vartoosh. While a 1979 exhibition dedicated to the museum’s collection of Gorky paintings and drawings was under preparation, correspondence with the artist's nephew Karlen Mooradian (1935–1990) supported the opinion that the painting was a portrait of his mother, the artist's younger sister Vartoosh Mooradian (née Adoian; 1906–1991).2 The title Portrait of Vartoosh was accordingly retained.3

As it appears here, the painting’s title is based on Jim M. Jordan’s catalogue raisonné where it is published as Portrait of Vartoosh, yet set within quotes, indicating that it was a lifetime designation.4 In 1949, Joseph Hirshhorn claimed that Gorky never provided him with titles for the works he had acquired, but the 1943 list presents the possibility that Gorky did assign a title to this work, namely, Portrait of My Sister, Vartoosh.5 

For just over a year beginning in September 1935, Vartoosh, her husband Moorad (1896–1963), and their young son Karlen (1935–1990), lived with Gorky in his studio at 36 Union Square, after when they moved to Chicago. During their stay, Gorky made a pencil drawing of Vartoosh which he later mentions in a letter to her from late 1937: "from that [drawing] I have made four very magnificent oil paintings," of which this is one (see also P112 and P113; the fourth is unidentified).1 Gorky never succeeded in delivering these paintings to Vartoosh. At the time of Hirshhorn's purchase in the early 1940s, Gorky backdated the painting to 1922.

1. Hirshhorn would later recall purchasing the paintings a "year or two earlier than 1943." On Agnes's authorship and Hirshhorn's recollection of an earlier acquisition date, see: Phyllis Rosenzweig, “Catalog,” in Arshile Gorky: The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection Smithsonian Institution, exh. cat. (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979), 8, fn. 1. “Sold to Mr. Joseph H. Hirshhorn,” March 20, 1943, AGF Archives. Letter from Agnes Phillips to Phyllis Rosenzweig, November 12, 1977, AGF Archives.

2. Rosenzweig, “Catalog,” 8.

3. Rosenzweig, "Illustrations and Text," 20.

4. Jim M. Jordan, "Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings," in Jim M. Jordan and Robert Goldwater, The Paintings of Arshile Gorky: A Critical Catalogue (New York and London: New York University Press, 1982), 238–39.

5. “Gorky never gave me titles or a bill for these pictures and if he did I do not remember receiving one.” Letter from Joseph H. Hirshhorn to Wolfgang Schwabacher, February 21, 1949, AGF Archives.

6. Letter from Arshile Gorky to Vartoosh Mooradian, [September or December] 18, 1937, Arshile Gorky/Mooradian Archive, Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, New York. Arshile Gorky to Vartoosh Mooradian, [Month unknown] 18, 1937, in Matthew Spender, ed., Arshile Gorky:The Plow and the Song: A Life in Letters and Documents, trans. Father Krikor Maksoudian (Zurich: Hauser & Wirth Publishers, 2018), 154, 156.

Portraits (sitter identified): Vartoosh Adoian Mooradian (artist's sister)

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