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Photo: © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, NY
P323
Agony
1947
Oil on canvas
40 x 50 1/2 in. (101.6 x 128.3 cm)
Front, center left: A. Gorky / 47 / [paraph]
Reverse not seen
Reverse not seen
Provenance
Exhibitions
Julien Levy Gallery, New York, Arshile Gorky, February 29–March 20, 1948, no. 14, as Agony.
Museum of Modern Art, New York, Recent Acquisitions, March 28–May 7, 1950.
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, New Accessions USA, July 2–September 4, 1950, no. 35, ill. in b/w, as Agony.
Museum of Modern Art, New York, Abstract Painting and Sculpture in America, January 23–March 25, 1951, no. 38, ill. in color, p. 127; p. 151, as Agony. Traveled to: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, October 1–22, 1951; St. Paul Gallery and School of Art, Minnesota, November 5–26, 1951; Winnipeg Art Gallery, Manitoba, Canada, December 10–31, 1951; Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio, January 14–28, 1952; J.B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky, February 18–March 10, 1952; Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, March 24–April 14, 1952.
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Arshile Gorky Memorial Exhibition, January 5–February 18, 1951, no. 45, ill. in color, p. 9; p. 47, as Agony. Traveled to: Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, March 4–April 22, 1951; San Francisco Museum of Art, California, May 9–July 9, 1951.
Brooklyn Museum, New York, Revolution and Tradition: An Exhibition of the Chief Movements in American Painting from 1900 to the Present, November 15, 1951–January 6, 1952, no. 55, p. 11, as Agony.
Wildenstein & Co, New York, Loan Exhibition of Seventy XX Century American Paintings (Chosen by the Art Critics of Art Digest, Art News, Life Magazine of Art, New York Herald Tribune; New York Times, and Time), February 21–March 22, 1952, no. 36, as Agony.
Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey, Arshile Gorky: A Loan Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings, October 6–26, 1952, no. 17, as Agony.
Musée national d'art moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, 12 peintres et sculpteurs américains contemporains, April 24–June 7, 1953, no. 12, ill. in b/w, pl. 17, as "Agonie". Traveled to: Kunsthaus Zurich, July 25–August 30, 1953; Kunstsammlungen der Stadt Düsseldorf, September 20–October 25, 1953; Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm, November 24–December 20, 1953; Taidehalli-Konsthallen, Helsinki, January 8–24, 1954; Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, February 18–March 7, 1954.
Museum of Modern Art, New York, International Council (organizer), Modern Art in the United States: Selections from the Collections of the Museum of Modern Art, 1955–56, ill. in b/w, as Agony, [Paris: no. 75, ill. in b/w, pl. 24; Barcelona: no. 75, ill. in b/w, pl. 26; Frankfurt: no. 75, ill. in b/w, p. 54; London: no. 75, ill. in. b/w, pl. XX; The Hague: no. 92, ill. in b/w, fig. 34; Vienna: no. 75, ill. in b/w, p. 60; Belgrade: no. 75, ill. in b/w, p. 60]. Traveled to: Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, March 30–May 15, 1955; Kunsthaus Zurich, July 16–August 28, 1955; Palacio de la Virveina, Barcelona, September 24–October 24, 1955; Städelschen Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt, November 13–December 11, 1955; Tate Gallery, London, January 5–February 12, 1956; Gemeente-Museum, The Hague, March 2–April 15, 1956; Wiener Secession Galerie, Vienna, May 5–June 2, 1956; Kalemagdan Pavilion, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, July 7–August 6, 1956.
Sidney Janis Gallery, New York, 33 Paintings by Arshile Gorky, December 2–28, 1957 (Exhibition catalogue: Sidney Janis Gallery 1957), no. 31, ill. in b/w, as Agony.
Museum of Modern Art, New York, International Council (organizer), The New American Painting, 1958–59, as Agony, [Basel: 17; Milan: ill. in color, p. 34; Madrid: no. 17; Amsterdam: no. 17, ill. in b/w; Brussels: no. 17; Paris: no. 16; London: no. 16; New York: no. 16, ill. in color, p. 35]. Traveled to: Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland, April 19–May 26, 1958; Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna, Milan, June 1–30, 1958; Museum Nacional de Art Contemporaneo, Madrid, July 16–August 11, 1958; Hochschule für Bildende Kunste, Berlin, September 1–October 1, 1958; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, October 17–November 24, 1958; Palais des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles, Brussels, December 6, 1958–January 4, 1959; Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, January 16–February 15, 1959; Tate Gallery, London, February 24–March 22, 1959; Museum of Modern Art, New York, May 28–September 8, 1959.
XXXI Biennale di Venezia: Internazionale d'Arte, U.S. Pavillion, Venice, Italy, Arshile Gorky, June 16–October 7, 1962, no. 26, ill. in b/w, pl. 91; p. 114, as "Agonia".
Museum of Modern Art, New York, Arshile Gorky, 1904–1948, December 19, 1962–February 12, 1963 (Exhibition catalogue: Seitz 1962), no. 101, ill. in b/w, p. 41; p. 55, as Agony. Traveled to: Washington Gallery of Modern Art, Washington, D.C, March 12–April 14, 1963.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C, Paintings from the Museum of Modern Art, New York, December 17, 1963–March 1, 1964, ill. in color, p. 75, as Agony.
Arts Council of Great Britain, London (organizer), Tate Gallery, Arshile Gorky: Paintings and Drawings, April 2–May 2, 1965, no. 84, as Agony.
Museum of Modern Art, New York, The New American Painting and Sculpture: The First Generation, June 18–October 5, 1969, no. 25, as Agony.
Pasadena Art Museum, California, Painting in New York: 1944 to 1969, November 24, 1969–January 11, 1970, no. 3, ill. in b/w, p. 21.
Cleveland Museum of Art, The Spirit of Surrealism, October 3–November 25, 1979, no. 87, ill. in b/w, p. 146, as Agony.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Arshile Gorky 1904–1948: A Retrospective, April 24–July 19, 1981, no. 220, ill. in color, p. 237, as Agony. Traveled to: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, September 12–November 6, 1981; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, December 3, 1981–February 28, 1982.
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, Abstract Expressionism: The Critical Developments, September 19–November 29, 1987, no. 10, ill. in color, p. 176, as Agony.
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo (organizers), Arshile Gorky: The Breakthrough Years, 1995–96, no. 14, ill. in color, p. 117, as Agony. Traveled to: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C, May 7–September 17, 1995; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, October 13–December 31, 1995; Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas, January 13–March 17, 1996.
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, and Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon (organizers), Arshile Gorky: Hommage, 2007, ill. in color (detail), cover; ill. in color, p. 79, as "Agonie / Agony". Traveled to: Centre culturel Calouste Gulbenkian, Paris, April 2–June 4, 2007; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, April 2–June 4, 2007.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective, October 15, 2009–January 10, 2010 (Exhibition catalogue: Taylor 2009a), pl. 165, ill. in color, p. 327; p. 392, as Agony. Traveled to: Tate Modern, London, February 10–May 3, 2010; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, June 6–September 20, 2010.
Museum of Modern Art, New York, Abstract Expressionist New York, October 3, 2010–April 25, 2011, no. 33, ill. in color, p. 52, as Agony.
Mnuchin Gallery, New York, Reds, April 27–June 9, 2018, p. 20, ill. in color, p. 21, as Agony.
Literature
Greenberg, Clement. "Art." The Nation (New York) 166 (March 20, 1948), discussed p. 332, as Agony.
Greenberg, Clement. "Art Chronicle: The Decline of Cubism." Partisan Review (New York) 15, no. 3 (March 1948), ill. in b/w (repr. 90 degrees counterclockwise), as Agony.
Boswell, Peyton, Jr. "Modern Manifesto Repercussions." Art Digest (New York) 24, no. 14 (April 15, 1950), discussed p. 5, as "one more [painting aquired by MoMA] by the late Arshile Gorky".
Genauer, Emily. "Questions of Museum Policy Raised By Statement of Three Institutions." New York Herald Tribune, April 2, 1950, discussed, as "one more [painting] by the late Arshile Gorky".
Devree, Howard. "Double Exhibition in Modern Museum." New York Times, March 29, 1950, discussed p. 27, as Agony.
Devree, Howard. "By Contemporaries." New York Times, April 2, 1950, discussed p. 104, as Agony.
"Painting and Sculpture Acquisitions from July 1, 1949 through July 1, 1950." The Museum of Modern Art Bulletin (New York) 18 (Winter 1950–1951), ill. in b/w, p. 21, as Agony.
Ballard, Louis. "Art." Arts & Architecture (Los Angeles) 68 (May 1951), discussed p. 11, as Agony.
de Kooning, Elaine. "Gorky: Painter of his Own Legend." Artnews (New York) 49, no. 9 (January 1951), discussed p. 65, as Agony.
Baur, John I.H. "Modern American Art and Its Critics." Art in America (New York) 39 (April 1951), fig. 5, ill. in b/w, p. 63, as Agony.
Goodrich, Lloyd. "Eight Works by Arshile Gorky with Notes by Lloyd Goodrich." Magazine of Art (Washington, D.C.) 44 (February 1951), ill. in b/w, p. 61, as Agony.
Baur, John I.H. Revolution and Tradition in Modern American Art. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1951, ill. in b/w, fig. 91, n.p., as Agony.
Devree, Howard. "A Memorable Year: The Modern Movement at Its 1913 Pitch—The Whitney's Gorky Memorial." New York Times, January 7, 1951, ill. in b/w, p. 89, as Agony.
Baur, John I.H. "American Art After 25 Years: A Richer Diversity Than Ever Before." Art Digest (New York) 26 (November 1, 1951), ill. in b/w, p. 19, as Agony.
Devree, Howard. "In A Wide Range." New York Times, February 18, 1951, discussed p. 88, as Agony.
Fitzsimmons, James. "Art for Export: Will It Survive the Voyage?" Art Digest (New York) 26 (January 1, 1952), discussed p. 9, as Agony.
Loftus, John. "Arshile Gorky: A Monograph." M.A. Thesis, Columbia University, New York, 1952, pl. XXXVII, ill. in b/w, as Agony.
Angell, Roger. "Museum of Modern Art." Holiday Magazine (New York) 14, no. 5 (November 1953), ill. in color (installation view), pp. 60–61, as Agony.
Stahly, François. "Pariser Kunstchronik." Werk (Bern, Switzerland) 40 (1953), ill. in b/w, p. 92, as "L'Angoisse".
Barr, Alfred H., Jr., ed. Masters of Modern Art. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, distributed by Simon and Schuster, 1954, ill. in color, p. 175, as Agony.
Mooradian, Karlen. "Arshile Gorky." Armenian Review (Watertown, MA) 8, no. 2 (Summer 1955), discussed p. 57, as Agony.
Coates, Robert M. "The Art Galleries." The New Yorker 33 (December 14, 1957), discussed p. 142, as Agony.
Goodrich, Lloyd. "Arshile Gorky." In New Art in America, John I.H. Baur, ed. Greenwich, CT: New York Graphic Society, 1957, ill. in b/w, p. 191, as Agony.
Schapiro, Meyer. "Gorky: The Creative Influence." Artnews (New York) 56, no. 5 (September 1957), discussed p. 51, as Agony.
Schwabacher, Ethel. Arshile Gorky. New York: The Macmillan Company for the Whitney Museum of American Art, 1957. Monograph, pl. IV, ill. in color, as Agony.
Borgese, Leonardo. "Alla Galleria d'Arte Moderna: Candore e Conformismo della 'Nuova Pittura Americana.'" Corriere Della Sera (Milan), June 8, 1958, discussed p. 3, as "Agonia".
Painting and Sculpture in the Museum of Modern Art: A Catalog. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1958, discussed p. 27, as Agony.
"Abstracte kunst uit Amerika en van Nederlanders." Nieuwe Rotterdamse Courant (Amsterdam), November 15, 1958, ill. in b/w, as "Angst".
"Abstract Expressionism Abroad." Time (New York) 72, no. 5 (August 4, 1958), ill. in color, p. 44, as Agony.
Rudikoff, Sonya. "Gorky and Tomlin." Review of Arshile Gorky, by Ethel Schwabacher. Partisan Review (New York) 25, no. 1 (Winter 1958), discussed p. 160, as Agony.
Guéguen, Pierre. "Pollock et la Nouvelle Peinture Amèricaine." Aujourd'hui Art et Architecture (Paris) 21 (March–April 1959), ill. in b/w, p. 33, as "Agonie".
Late Drawings by Gorky. New York: Sidney Janis Gallery, 1959. Exhibition catalogue (1959b New York), no. 39, ill. in b/w (in situ), as Agony in in "Gallery View, Gorky Exhibition, December 1957".
Rosenberg, Harold. "Arshile Gorky: The Last Move." The Hudson Review (New York) 13 (Spring 1960), discussed p. 110, as Agony.
Barilli, Renato. "La Pittura di Arshile Gorky." La Biennale 43 (April–June 1961), ill. in color, p. 17, as Agony.
Reiff, Robert F. "A Stylistic Analysis of Arshile Gorky's Art from 1943–1948." Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, New York, 1961, fig. 54, ill. in b/w, p. 332, as Agony.
Boatto, Alberto. "L'itinerario di Gorky." Arte Oggi (Rome) 14 (June–December 1962), discussed p. 11, as "Agonia".
Debran, Jane. "The Genius of Gorky on View." Brooklyn Daily Eagle (New York), December 28, 1962, ill., p. 8, as Agony.
Goldwater, Robert. "The Genius of the Moujik." Review of Arshile Gorky: The Man, the Time, the Idea, by Harold Rosenberg. Saturday Review (New York) 45 (May 19, 1962), discussed p. 38, as Agony.
Rosenberg, Harold. Arshile Gorky: The Man, the Time, the Idea. New York: Horizon Press, 1962. Monograph, ill. in color, pp. 38–39, as Agony.
Ashton, Dore. "Arshile Gorky peintre romantique." XXe siècle (Paris) 19 (June 1962), ill. in color (repr. in reverse), p. 81, as "Agonie".
Ahlander, Leslie Judd. "Gorky, Greene Are on Exhibit." The Washington Post, March 17, 1963, discussed p. G6, as Agony.
Alloway, Lawrence. "Gorky." Artforum (New York) 1, no. 9 (March 1963), discussed p. 30, as Agony.
Dennison, George. "The Crisis Art of Arshile Gorky." Arts Magazine (New York) 37 (February 1963), ill. in b/w, p. 17, as Agony.
Kramer, Hilton. "Art." The Nation (New York) 196 (January 12, 1963), discussed p. 39, as "The Agony".
Rubin, William. "Arshile Gorky, Surrealism, and the New American Painting." Art International (Paris) 7, no. 2 (February 25, 1963), ill. in b/w, p. 36, as Agony.
Wilson, Jack. "Where We Stand: Our Planet." Look Magazine (Des Moines) (January 15, 1963), ill. in color, p. 37, as Agony.
Reiff, Robert. "The Late Works of Arshile Gorky: A Critical Estimate." Art Journal (New York) 22, no. 3 (Spring 1963), fig. 2, ill. in b/w, p. 151, discussed p. 150, as Agony.
Ashton, Dore. "New York." Das Kunstwerk (Stuttgart, Germany) 16, no. 10 (April 1963), discussed p. 31, as Agony.
Hoyland, Francis. "The composer." The Listener (London) (April 15, 1965), discussed p. 568, as Agony.
Seddon, Richard. "Tate Gallery Show." Birmingham Post (England), April 6, 1965, discussed, p. 18, as Agony.
Spencer, Charles S. "Gorky Art On View In London." New York Times International, April 13, 1965, ill. in b/w, as Agony.
Levy, Julien. Arshile Gorky. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1966. Monograph, pl. 171, ill. in color, p. 195, as Agony, dated 1947.
Rose, Barbara. American Art Since 1900: A Critical History. New York & Washington: Frederick A. Praeger, Inc., 1967, fig. 6–19, ill. in b/w, p. 172.
Mooradian, Karlen. "Arshile Gorky: The Prompter." Harvard Art Review (Cambridge, MA) 2, no. 1 (Winter 1967), ill. in b/w, p. 37, as Agony.
Christensen, Erwin O. A Guide to Art Museums in the United States. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1968, fig. 178, ill. in b/w, p. 81, as Agony.
Passeron, René. Histoire de la peinture surréaliste. Paris: Librairie Le Livre de Poche, 1968, fig. 140, ill. in b/w, p. 244, as "Agonie".
Rubin, William S. Dada and Surrealist Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1968, fig. 413, ill. in b/w, p. 397, as Agony.
Alexandrian, Sarane. L'art surréaliste. Paris: Fernand Hazan, 1969, fig. 177, ill. in color, p. 176, as "Agonie".
Reiff, Robert. "A Drawing by Arshile Gorky: A Study for Agony." North Carolina Museum of Art Bulletin (Raleigh) 8 (June 1969), fig. 2, ill. in b/w, p. 19, as Agony.
Rosenberg, Harold. Artworks and Packages. New York: Horizon Press, 1969, ill. in b/w, p. 203, as Agony.
Alexandrian, Sarane. Surrealist Art. New York and Washington, D.C.: Praeger Publishers, 1970, fig. 176, ill. in color, p. 176, as Agony.
Castagnoli, Pier Giovanni. "Arte 'per il popolo' e solitudine dell'uomo. De Kooning e Gorky alla ricerca del 'capolavoro.'" Il Mulino (Bologna) 20, no. 215 (May–June 1971), discussed p. 538, as "Agonia".
Hunter, Sam. American Art of the Twentieth Century. With sections on architecture by John Jacobus. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1972, 1973, pl. 414, ill. in b/w, p. 229, as Agony.
Calas, Nicolas. "A Tough Nut to Crack." Artforum (New York) 13 (May 1975), ill. in b/w, p. 49, as Agony.
Kagitani, Y. "Arshile Gorky: A Man Who Lived in the Middle of Solitude." Mizue (Tokyo) 9, no. 858 (September 1976), ill. in color, p. 27.
Barr, Alfred H., Jr., ed. Painting and Sculpture in the Museum of Modern Art, 1929–1967. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1977, ill. in b/w, p. 309, as Agony.
Pohribny, Arsén. Abstrakte Malerei. Freiburg, Basel, Vienna: Herder, 1978, no. 44, ill. in color, p. 78, as "Agonie".
Pohribny, Arsén. Abstract Painting. Oxford and New York: Phaidon Press Limited and E.P. Dutton, 1979, no. 44, ill. in color, p. 78, as Agony.
Rand, Harry. Arshile Gorky: The Implication of Symbols. London and Montclair, N.J.: George Prior and Allanheld & Schram, 1980, 1981. Monograph, fig. 12–1, ill. in b/w, p. 178, as Agony.
Cullinan, Helen. "The First and Last of Arshile Gorky." The Plain Dealer (Cleveland), July 5, 1981, ill. in b/w, as Agony.
"Arshile Gorky Retrospective." Dallas Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin (Fall 1981), ill. in b/w, as Agony.
Duppen, Leo. "De Poetische Schilderkunst van Arshile Gorky." Kunstbeeld (Amsterdam) (June–July 1981), ill. in b/w, as Agony.
Hughes, Robert. "Art: The Triumph of Achilles the Bitter." Time (New York) 117, no. 19 (May 11, 1981), discussed p. 81, as Agony.
Jordan, Jim M. "Gorky at the Guggenheim." Art Journal (New York) 41, no. 3 (Fall 1981), discussed p. 264, as Agony.
Larson, Kay. "The Man Who Would Be Best." New York 14 (May 11, 1981), discussed p. 73, as Agony.
McGregor, John M. "Arshile Gorky's Agony: The Phallus and the Flame." Express (New York) (Summer 1981), ill. in b/w, p. 5, as Agony.
Monte, James. "The Life and Work of Arshile Gorky." Museum Magazine (Arlington, VA) 2 (June–August 1981), ill. in color, p. 46, as Agony.
Morgan, S. "Becoming Arshile Gorky." Artscribe (London), no. 31 (October 1981), discussed p. 22, as Agony.
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. 54, as Agony.
Wolff, Theodore F. "Gorky—Crucial Artist of America's Postwar Era." Christian Science Monitor (Boston) (May 13, 1981), ill. in b/w, p. 18, as Agony.
Jordan, Jim M., and Robert Goldwater. The Paintings of Arshile Gorky: A Critical Catalogue. New York and London: New York University Press, 1982, pl. 10, ill. in color, p. 114, as Agony.
Karp, Diane. "Arshile Gorky: The Language of Art." Ph.D. diss., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1982, fig. 87, ill. in b/w, p. 255, as Agony.
Reiff, Robert. "Review." Review of Arshile Gorky: The Implications of Symbols, by Harry Rand. Art Journal (New York) 42, no. 1 (Spring 1982), discussed p. 77, as Agony.
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. 90–91, as Agony.
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. 323, ill. in b/w (repr. 90 degrees counterclockwise), pp. 494–96, as Agony.
Donnell-Kotrozo, Carol. [no title]. Review of Arshile Gorky: The Implications of Symbols, by Harry Rand. Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism (Hoboken, NJ) 41 (June 1983), discussed p. 462, as Agony.
Nercessian, Nora N. "The Defeat of Arshile Gorky." Armenian Review (Watertown, MA) 36, no. 1 (Spring 1983), discussed p. 91, as Agony.
Seitz, William C. Abstract Expressionist Painting in America. Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press for the National Gallery of Art, 1983, fig. 88a, ill. in color, as Agony.
Baigell, Matthew. A Concise History of American Painting and Sculpture. New York: Harper & Row, 1984, no. 303, ill. in b/w, as Agony.
Lader, Melvin P. Arshile Gorky. New York: Abbeville Press, 1985. Monograph, fig. 104, ill. in color, p. 103, as Agony.
Kuspit, Donald. "Arshile Gorky: Images in Support of the Invented Self." In Abstract Expressionism: The Critical Developments. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1987. Exhibition catalogue, discussed p. 62, as Agony.
Corrin, Lisa. "Toward Armenia: Notes of a Journey." In Arshile Gorky: 1904–1948. London: Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1990. Exhibition catalogue, fig. 3, ill. in b/w, p. 180, as Agony.
Hughes, Robert. "Art: The Triumph of Achilles the Bitter." Time (New York) 117, no. 19 (May 11, 1981). In Nothing If Not Critical: Selected Essays on Art and Artists. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990, discussed p. 223, as Agony.
Anfam, David. Abstract Expressionism. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1990, fig. 87, ill. in b/w, p. 119, as Agony.
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, Erika Billeter, ed. Lausanne: Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, 1990. Exhibition catalogue, fig. 21, ill. in b/w, p. 39, as Agony.
Anfam, David. "Convulsive Images." Art International (Paris) 11 (Summer 1990), discussed pp. 100–101, as Agony.
Rand, Harry. Arshile Gorky: The Implication of Symbols. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1991. Monograph, fig. 12–1, ill. in b/w, p. 202, as "Agony I".
Franc, Helen M. An Invitation to See: 150 Works from the Museum of Modern Art. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1992, ill. in color, p. 129, as Agony.
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. 13, ill. in b/w, p. 33, as Agony.
Franklin, Margery B., Robert C. Becklen, and Charlotte L. Doyle. "The Influence of Titles on How Paintings Are Seen." Leonardo (Cambridge, MA) 26, no. 2 (1993), fig. 2, ill. in b/w, p. 104, as Agony.
Kramer, Hilton. "Tragedy of Life and Art." Art & Antiques (New York) 18, no. 9 (October 1995), discussed p. 116, as Agony.
Weil, Rex. "Arshile Gorky." Artnews (New York) 94 (September 1995), discussed p. 147, as Agony.
Akiskal, Kareen K., and Hagop S. Akiskal. "Abstract Expressionism as Psychobiography: The Life and Suicide of Arshile Gorky." In Depression and the Spiritual in Modern Art: Homage to Miró, Schildkraut, Joseph J. and Aurora Otero, eds. Chichester (U.K.) and New York: John Wiley, 1996, fig. 19–9, ill. in b/w, p. 235, as Agony.
Balakian, Peter. "Arshile Gorky and the Armenian Genocide." Art in America (New York) 84 (February 1996), discussed p. 59, as Agony.
Matossian, Nouritza. Black Angel: The Life of Arshile Gorky. London: Chatto & Windus, 1998, color pl. 16, ill., as Agony.
Herrera, Hayden. Arshile Gorky: His Life and Work. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2003, fig. 175, ill. in color, as Agony.
Beredjiklian, Alexandre. Arshile Gorky: sept thèmes majeurs. Suresnes, France: Alphamédian & Johanet; Lisbon: Fondation Calouste Gulbenkian, 2007. Monograph, discussed pp. 55, 63, as "Agonie".
Cooksey, Chelsea L. "Arshile Gorky: The Abstraction of Symbol, Figure, and Form." M.A. Thesis, Purchase College, State University of New York, 2009, fig. 64, ill. in color, p. 87, as "Agony I".
Cotter, Holland. "From Mimic to Master of Invention." New York Times, October 23, 2009, ill. in color, p. 27, as Agony.
Matttison, Robert S. Arshile Gorky: Works and Writings. Barcelona: Ediciones Polígrafica, 2009. Monograph, ill. in color, p. 123, as Agony.
Theriault, Kim S. Rethinking Arshile Gorky. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2009. Monograph, pl. 25, ill. in color; ill. in b/w (detail), p. 194, as Agony.
Alberro, Alexander. "The Apprenticeship of Arshile Gorky: On Arshile Gorky at the Philadelphia Museum of Art." Texte zur Kunst (Cologne) 77 (March 2010), discussed pp. 149, 212, as "The Agony".
Gale, Matthew. Arshile Gorky: Enigma and Nostalgia. London: Tate Publishing, 2010. Exhibition catalogue (2009–10 Philadelphia), no. 1, ill. in color, p. 6, as Agony.
Spender, Matthew. Una storia armena Vita di Arshile Gorky. Florence: Barbès Editore, 2010, ill. in b/w, p. 360; p. 428, as Agony.
Weston, Neville. "Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective." Craft Arts International (Neutral Bay Junction, N.S.W.) 79 (2010), ill. in color (detail), p. 84, as Agony.
Sarkissian, Nouneh. "Arshile Gorky: Fruition through Complexity." KCW Today (London), December 27, 2016, discussed, as Agony.
Notes
Commentary
The painting's overall composition is closely referenced in seven known drawings (see related work).
Gorky titled the painting Agony for his 1948 exhibition at Julien Levy Gallery.1 According to Julien Levy (1906–1981), by this point, in part due to André Breton's (1896–1966) departure from New York in December 1945, Gorky's process for arriving at titles had evolved from its earlier basis in collaborative plays of free association (see commentary for P287), to an increasingly succinct "vocabulary" that was "more manifest and less a process of discovery."2
In 1966, Alfred H. Barr Jr. (1902–1981), the founding director of the Museum of Modern Art (1929–1943), recounted having selected the painting for the museum's collection before Gorky's death in July 1948. Barr likely first encountered the work at the Julien Levy Gallery exhibition earlier that year, however, according to Barr, Levy, who represented Gorky at the time, refused to part with the painting until 1950.3 In a 1966 letter, Barr admitted that he "personally felt [this] was perhaps [Gorky's] best painting."4
1. Julien Levy Gallery, New York, Arshile Gorky, February 29–March 20, 1948. No catalogue. The works that appeared in the exhibition are known from a price list on file in the Julien Levy papers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives.
2. Julien Levy, Arshile Gorky (New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc., 1966), 36.
3. Letter from Alfred H. Barr Jr. to Karlen Mooradian, March 30, 1966, AGF Archives.
4. Ibid.
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