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Photo: Courtesy the National Gallery of Art, Washington
P146
Organization
1933–36
Oil on canvas
50 x 59 13/16 in. (127 x 152 cm)
Front, center right: A Gorky
Reverse, on a section of the original stretcher bar affixed to the existing center stretcher bar: TOP 32 Arshile GORKY 36 Union Square 1933–34 / 36
Reverse, on a section of the original stretcher bar affixed to the existing center stretcher bar: TOP 32 Arshile GORKY 36 Union Square 1933–34 / 36
Provenance
The artist
[Boyer Galleries, Philadelphia (by November 1936)]
The artist (after December 1936)
Estate of Arshile Gorky (1948)
[M. Knoedler & Co. Inc., New York (1967)]
Estate of Arshile Gorky (March 7, 1974)
Private collection (1975)
[Xavier Fourcade Inc., New York (July 26, 1978)]
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (February 28, 1979)
Exhibitions
1936d New York
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Third Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting, November 10–December 10, 1936, no. 10, as Organization.1941 San Francisco
San Francisco Museum of Art, Arshile Gorky, August 9–24, 1941, as "Composition," dated 1933.1951a New York
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Arshile Gorky Memorial Exhibition, January 5–February 18, 1951, no. 11, ill. in b/w, p. 18; p. 46, as Organization (exhibited in New York only). Traveled to: Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, March 4–April 22, 1951; San Francisco Museum of Art, California, May 9–July 9, 1951.1962b New York
Sidney Janis Gallery, New York, Paintings by Arshile Gorky from 1929 to 1948, February 5–March 3, 1962. (Exhibition catalogue: Sidney Janis Gallery 1962), no. 5, ill. in b/w, as Organization, dated c. 1932.1962d New York
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (organizer), Geometric Abstraction in America: Fifth Loan Exhibition by the Friends of the Whitney Museum of American Art, March 20–May 13, 1962, no. 36, p. 16, as Organization.1962 Venice
XXXI Biennale di Venezia: Internazionale d'Arte, U.S. Pavilion, Venice, Italy, Arshile Gorky, June 16–October 7, 1962, no. 4, p. 113, as "Organizzazione".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. 27, ill. in b/w, p. 23; p. 53, as Organization, dated c. 1934–36. 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. 37, ill. in b/w, as "Organisatie / Organisation," dated c. 1933–36. 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. 27, ill. in b/w, as Organization, dated c. 1933–36.1977 AC–London
Arts Council of Great Britain, London (organizer), Modern Spirit: American Painting 1908–1935, 1977, no. 152, as "Organisation". Traveled to: Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, August 20–September 11, 1977; Hayward Gallery, London, September 28–November 20, 1977.1978 Düsseldorf
Städtische Kunsthalle, Düsseldorf, American Abstract Art, Spring 1978. Traveled to: Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou, Paris, Summer 1978.1978–80 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. 5, ill. in color, p. 69, as Organization. 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, 1980.1979b New York
Xavier Fourcade Inc, New York, Arshile Gorky: Important Paintings and Drawings, April 3–28, 1979, ill. in color, as Organization.1981–82 New York
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Arshile Gorky 1904–1948: A Retrospective, April 24–July 19, 1981, no. 81, ill. in color, p. 128, as Organization, dated c. 1936. Traveled to: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, September 12–November 6, 1981; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, December 3, 1981–February 28, 1982.1981–82 Munich
Haus der Kunst, Munich, Amerikanische Malerei 1930–1980 / American Painting 1930–1980, November 14, 1981–January 31, 1982, fig. 26, ill. in b/w, p. 87, as Organization, dated c. 1936, [not exhibited].1983–84 Pittsburgh
Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Abstract Painting and Sculpture in America, 1927–1944, November 5–December 31, 1983, ill. in b/w, frontispiece, as Organization (not exhibited). Traveled to: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, January 26–March 25, 1984; Minneapolis Institute of Art, April 15–June 3, 1984; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, June 28–September 9, 1984.2003–04 Rome
Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome, Metafisica, September 27, 2003–January 6, 2004, no. 99, as Organization.2006–07 New York
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Picasso and American Art, September 28, 2006–January 28, 2007, pl. 67, ill. in color, p. 145; p. 384, as Organization. Traveled to: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, February 25–May 28, 2007; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, June 17–September 9, 2007.2009–10 Philadelphia
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective, October 15, 2009–January 10, 2010. (Exhibition catalogue: Taylor 2009a), pl. 66, ill. in color, p. 222; detail in color, p. 174; p. 387, as Organization. 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).2012 Andover
Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, American Vanguards: Graham, Davis, Gorky, de Kooning, and Their Circle, 1927–1942, September 21–December 31, 2012, p. 168; pl. 42, ill. in color (detail), p. 62; ill. in color, p. 99, as Organization. Traveled to: Neuberger Museum, Purchase College, State University of New York, January 29–April 28, 2012; Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, June 9–August 19, 2012.2015 Norfolk
Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, Collection Conversations: Arshile Gorky: Between Worlds, July 1–October 18, 2015, as Organization.Literature
Art and Artists of Today 1937b
"Boyer Galleries (advertisement)." Edited by Nathaniel Pousette-Dart. Art and Artists of Today (New York) 1, no. 3 (September–October 1937), ill. in b/w, p. 26, as Organization.Loftus 1952
Loftus, John. "Arshile Gorky: A Monograph." M.A. Thesis, Columbia University, New York, 1952, pl. XIV, ill. in b/w, as Organization.Mooradian 1955
Mooradian, Karlen. "Arshile Gorky." Armenian Review (Watertown, MA) 8, no. 2 (Summer 1955), ill. in b/w, p. 56, as Organization.Frankenstein 1957
Frankenstein, Alfred. "An American Artist's Tragic Insights." Review of Arshile Gorky, by Ethel Schwabacher. New York Herald Tribune, December 22, 1957, ill. in b/w, p. 6, as Organization.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. 17, ill. in b/w, p. 54, as Organization.Rosenblum 1958a
Rosenblum, Robert. "Arshile Gorky." Review of Arshile Gorky, by Ethel Schwabacher. Arts Magazine (New York) 32, no. 4 (January 1958), ill. in b/w, p. 31, as Organization.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. 22, ill. in b/w, p. 300, as Organization.O'Hara 1962
O'Hara, Frank. "Art Chronicle." Kulchur (New York) 2, no. 6 (Summer 1962), discussed p. 56, as Organization.Rosenberg 1962a
Rosenberg, Harold. Arshile Gorky: The Man, the Time, the Idea. New York: Horizon Press, 1962. Monograph, ill. in b/w, p. 45, as Organization.Hoyland 1965
Hoyland, Francis. "The composer." The Listener (London) (April 15, 1965), discussed p. 568, as Organization.Levy 1966
Levy, Julien. Arshile Gorky. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1966. Monograph, pl. 46, ill. in color, p. 70, as Organization, dated c. 1934–36.Rose 1967
Rose, Barbara. American Art Since 1900: A Critical History. New York & Washington: Frederick A. Praeger, Inc., 1967, fig. 5–40, ill. in b/w, p. 147, as Organization.Sandler 1970
Sandler, Irving H. The Triumph of American Painting: A History of Abstract Expressionism. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1970, fig. 3–4, ill. in b/w, p. 48, as Organization.Kagitani 1976
Kagitani, Y. "Arshile Gorky: A Man Who Lived in the Middle of Solitude." Mizue (みづゑ) (Tokyo) 9, no. 858 (September 1976), ill. in b/w, p. 30.Quaytman 1976
Quaytman, Harvey. "Arshile Gorky's Early Paintings." Arts Magazine (New York) 50, no. 7 (March 1976), discussed p. 104, as Organization.Ashbery 1979
Ashbery, John. "Sweet Arshile, Bless Your Dear Heart." New York 12 (February 5, 1979), ill. in color, p. 52, as Organization.Shirey 1979
Shirey, David L. "Discovery in Newark: Works of Gorky." New York Times, February 4, 1979, ill. in b/w, section 11, p. 1, incorrectly cited as "one of the missing panels" of the Newark Airport murals.Suenaga 1979
Suenaga, Terukazu. "Mirror of Memory: Gorky's Cruel Change." Mizue (みづゑ) (Tokyo) 9, no. 894 (September 1979), ill. in color, p. 12, dated 1934–35.Schwartz 1979b
Schwartz, Ellen. "The Gorky Murals: A Bit of Detective Work." Artnews (New York) 78, no. 2 (February 1979), discussed p. 136, as Organization.FitzGerald 1980
FitzGerald, Michael. "Arshile Gorky's The Limit." Arts Magazine (New York) 54 (March 1980), fig. 6, ill. in b/w, p. 112, as Organization.National Gallery of Art 1980
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1980, ill. in b/w, p. 167, as Organization.Wilmerding 1980
Wilmerding, John. American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1980, ill. in b/w, p. 160, as Organization.Spender 1981
Spender, Matthew. "The Originality of Gorky." Art/World (New York) (May 23 / June 20, 1981), discussed p. 6, as Organization.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. 42, as Organization.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. 36, 48, 66–69, as Organization.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. 146, ill. in b/w, pp. 286–88, as Organization.Myers 1983
Myers, John Bernard. Tracking the Marvelous: A Life in the New York Art World. New York: Random House, 1983, ill. in b/w (in situ), as Organization.Seitz 1983
Seitz, William C. Abstract Expressionist Painting in America. Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press for the National Gallery of Art, 1983, fig. 57, ill. in b/w, as Organization.Lader 1985
Lader, Melvin P. Arshile Gorky. New York: Abbeville Press, 1985. Monograph, fig. 32, ill. in color, pp. 40–41, as Organization.Rand 1986
Rand, Harry. "Gorky In Virginia." Arts in Virginia 26, no. 1 (1986), fig. 4, ill. in b/w, p. 5, as Organization.Waldman 1988
Waldman, Diane. Willem de Kooning. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1988, fig. 10, ill. in b/w, p. 23, as Organization.Wilmerding 1988
Wilmerding, John. American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art (Revised and Enlarged Edition). New York: Hudson Hills Press, Inc., 1988, ill. in b/w, p. 188, as Organization.Anfam 1990a
Anfam, David. Abstract Expressionism. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1990, fig. 41, ill. in b/w, p. 59, as Organization.Spender 1990a
Spender, Matthew. "Origines et développement de l'oeuvre dessiné de Arshile Gorky / Quellen und Entwicklung von Arshile Gorkys zeichnerischem Werk." In Arshile Gorky: Œuvres sur Papier, 1929–1947 / Arbeiten auf Papier, 1929–1947, edited by Erika Billeter. Lausanne: Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, 1990. Exhibition catalogue, fig. 10, ill. in b/w, p. 26, as Organization, dated c. 1936.Lader 1992
Lader, Melvin P. "Arshile Gorky: A Modern Artist in the Academic Tradition / Arshile Gorky: Un Artista Moderno Nella Tradizione Accademica." In Arshile Gorky: Works on Paper / Opere su Carta. Rome: Edizioni Carte Segrete, 1992. Exhibition catalogue, fig. 8, ill. in b/w, p. 25, as Organization.National Gallery of Art 1992
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1992, ill. in b/w, p. 188, as Organization.Matossian 1998b
Matossian, Nouritza. Black Angel: The Life of Arshile Gorky. London: Chatto & Windus, 1998, pl. 4, ill. in color, as Organization.Danto 1999
Danto, Arthur. "Doodling Towards Armenia." Review of Black Angel: A Life of Arshile Gorky, by Nouritza Matossian. The Times Literary Supplement (London), January 22, 1999, ill. in b/w, p. 18, as Organization.Herrera 2003
Herrera, Hayden. Arshile Gorky: His Life and Work. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2003, fig. 16, ill. in color, as Organization.Weber 2006
Weber, Bruce. "Toward a New American Cubism." In Toward a New American Cubism. New York: Berry-Hill Galleries Inc., 2006. Exhibition catalogue, fig. 32, ill. in b/w, p. 51, as Organization.FitzGerald 2006a
FitzGerald, Michael. "Picasso and American Art: Chapter Three (1930–1939)." In Picasso and American Art. New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, in association with Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2006. Exhibition catalogue, discussed pp. 143, 148–51, 160, 162, as Organization.Beredjiklian 2007
Beredjiklian, Alexandre. Arshile Gorky: sept thèmes majeurs. Suresnes, France: Alphamédian & Johanet; Lisbon: Fondation Calouste Gulbenkian, 2007. Monograph, discussed p. 35, as "Organisation," dated 1936–37.Cooper 2007
Cooper, Harry. "Picasso and American Art (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York)." Artforum (New York) 45, no. 5 (January 2007), discussed p. 245, as Organization.Lindholm 2008
Lindholm, Charles. Culture and Authenticity. Oxford: Wiley, John & Sons, Inc., 2008, ill. in color, cover.Budick 2009
Budick, Ariella. "Arshile Gorky, Philadelphia Museum of Art." The Financial Times (London), November 2, 2009 (accessed online), ill. in color, as Organization.Cooper 2009
Cooper, Harry. "To Organize Painting." In Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective, edited by Michael Taylor. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2009. Exhibition catalogue, fig. 40, ill. in color (detail), p. 64, as Organization, Details ill. in color, figs. 42–43, p. 66; figs. 44–45, p. 67; fig. 47, p. 69; figs. 49–50, p. 70; fig. 51, p. 71.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. 68, as Organization.Mattison 2009
Matttison, Robert S. Arshile Gorky: Works and Writings. Barcelona: Ediciones Polígrafica, 2009. Monograph, ill. in color, p. 41, as Organization.Sozanski 2009
Sozanski, Edward. "Art: Arshile Gorky: Art and Anguish." Philadelphia Inquirer, October 25 2009, ill. in color (online only), as Organization.Wallis 2009
Wallis, Jonathan. "Perspective: Arshile Gorky Retrospective at the Philadelphia Museum of Art." Critical Mass (blog for City Paper, Philadelphia), November 16, 2009, ill. in color, as Organization.Theriault 2009a
Theriault, Kim S. Rethinking Arshile Gorky. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2009. Monograph, pl. 10, ill. in color, as Organization.Chang 2010
Chang, Richard. "Big Art Shows in L.A. and San Francisco." The Orange County Register (CA), July 7, 2010 (accessed online), ill. in color, as Organization.Gale 2010
Gale, Matthew. Arshile Gorky: Enigma and Nostalgia. London: Tate Publishing, 2010. Exhibition catalogue (2009–10 Philadelphia), no. 16, ill. in color, p. 41, as Organization.Robbins 2012
Robbins, Christa Noel. "Harold Rosenberg on the Character of Action." Oxford Art Journal (U.K.) 35, no. 2 (2012), fig. 2, ill. in color, p. 207; discussed p. 208, as Organization.Rosenthal 2013
Rosenthal, Deborah. The Changing Concept of Reality in Art. Arcade Publishing, 2013, ill. in color, as Organization.Krauss 2015
Krauss, Rosalind E. Willem de Kooning Nonstop: Cherchez la femme. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2015, fig. 31, ill. in color, p. 102, as Organization.Spender 2018a
Spender, Matthew, ed. Arshile Gorky: The Plow and the Song: A Life in Letters and Documents. Zurich: Hauser & Wirth Publishers, 2018, ill. in color, p. 138, as Organization.Patterson 2020
Patterson, Jody. Modernism for the Masses: Painters, Politics, and Public Murals in 1930s New York. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2020, fig. 38, ill. in color, p. 99, as Organization, dated c. 1933–36.Balkan 2021
Balkan, Debra Bricker. Harold Rosenberg: A Critic's Life. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2021, discussed pp. 359–60, as Organization.Robbins 2021
Robbins, Christa Noel. Artist as Author: Action and Intent in Late-Modernist American Painting. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2021, fig. 1.1, ill. in b/w, p. 31; discussed pp. 30–32, as Organization.Agee and Koob 2023
Agee, William C., and Pamela N. Koob. Max Weber and American Cubism. New York: Rizzoli Electa, 2023, ill. in color, p. 239; discussed pp. 238–39, as Organization.Eastham 2025
Eastham, Ben, ed. Arshile Gorky: New York City. Zurich: Hauser & Wirth Publishers, 2025. Monograph, discussed p. 92; ill. in color, pp. 94–95, as Organization.Notes
The painting is inscribed in gray paint with flourishes in white paint.
The canvas was relined. The inscription on the original stretcher bar is known from a photograph provided by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Commentary
Gorky spent several years working on Organization—from 1933 to 1936—and two photographs, taken around 1935, capture the composition's evolving states (see supplementary images).
The first photograph shows Gorky and Willem de Kooning (1904–1997), both nicely dressed, posing next to the painting. The composition is busier than it is in its present state, featuring a network of heavy black bars, predominantly located in the lower half of the composition. Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) was an important inspiration for Organization and Gorky owned a reproduction of his study for a welded iron sculpture which was to be fabricated by Julio González (1876–1942).1 The iron rods rendered in Picasso's study are capped at each end by balls, just as are Gorky's black bars in this earlier state of his composition. Also included in Picasso's study is the outline of an ovoid form which, with its two embedded round circles, recalls the African masks that had first inspired him around 1907. Gorky employs the same ovoid form, outlined in black and with only one "eye," in the upper left quadrant of his painting.
The second photograph shows Gorky alone, working on Organization in his studio. While the central, black biomorphic form is unchanged, the painting no longer includes the bars at lower right, now replaced by solid forms. Similarly, the bars that appear at left in the first photograph have been replaced with the planar forms that make up the painting today—excepting the leftmost capped bar, which runs to the composition's edge. The ovoid form has been removed as well and replaced by two, much smaller, ovals in heavy black paint, placed near the top edge of the canvas.
The painter Herman Rose (1909–2007), who visited Gorky's studio while he was working on the painting, later recalled: "I remember a painting of about four feet by five on his easel. It was like a still life composition, but it had a clear, Hans Arp-like shape in the center. Drawings of the same composition, mostly in black Indian ink, some of them very finished, were pinned to the walls. At one point Gorky took a palette knife and cut through the skin of the red shape in the middle of the painting, and prized it off, leaving a hollow in the surface of the picture."2
The painting was exhibited twice during Gorky's lifetime, in 1936 and 1941, as both Organization and Composition. It is catalogued here according to the earlier title.3
1. Picasso's study was published in Cahiers d'Art, nos. 8–9 (Paris, 1929): 352.
2. Herman Rose, interview with Matthew Spender dated February 12, 1995, p. 2, Matthew Spender Papers, AGF Archives.
3. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Third Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting, November 10–December 10, 1936. Exhibition catalogue.
Gorky at work on Organization in his studio, 36 Union Square, New York, c. 1935. Photo: Wyatt Davis. Courtesy National Archives, photo no. 69-N-3179C.
Gorky and Willem de Kooning in front of an earlier state of Organization, c. 1935. Photo: Oliver Baker. Rudi Blesh papers, circa 1900–1983, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
After works by other artists: Pablo Picasso
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