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Photo: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
P350
Soft Night
1947
Oil on canvas
38 1/8 x 50 1/8 in. (96.8 x 127.3 cm)
Front, lower left: A Gorky / 47 / [paraph]
Reverse not seen
Reverse not seen
Provenance
The artist
Julien Levy Gallery, New York (January 1948)
John and Ruth Stephan, Greenwich, Connecticut (February 23, 1948)
Ruth [Stephan] Walgreen Franklin, Greenwich, Connecticut (by 1962)
Estate of Ruth Stephan (1974)
New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation / Bellevue Hospital Center, New York, by bequest (1976)
[Sotheby Parke Bernet Inc., New York, Important Post-War and Contemporary Art, May 27, 1976, lot 331]
Joseph H. Hirshhorn, New York (May 27, 1976)
Estate of Joseph H. Hirshhorn (August 31, 1981)
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., by bequest (1981)
Exhibitions
1948b New York
Julien Levy Gallery, New York, Arshile Gorky, February 29–March 20, 1948, no. 5, as Soft Night.1948c New York
Julien Levy Gallery, New York, Arshile Gorky, 1905–1948, November 16–December 4, 1948, no. 8, as Soft Night, dated 1948.1951a New York
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Arshile Gorky Memorial Exhibition, January 5–February 18, 1951, no. 52, p. 47, as Soft Night. Traveled to: Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, March 4–April 22, 1951; San Francisco Museum of Art, California, May 9–July 9, 1951.1958–59 IC–MoMA
Museum of Modern Art, New York, International Council (organizer), The New American Painting: As Shown in Eight European Countries, 1958–59, as Soft Night, Lent by Mr. and Mrs. John Stephan, [Basel: no. 20; Madrid: no. 20; Amsterdam: no. 20; Brussels: no. 20; Paris: no. 19; London: no. 19; New York: no. 19]. Traveled to: Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland, April 19–May 26, 1958 (as Die neue amerikanische Malerei); Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna, Milan, June 1–30, 1958 (as La Nuova Pittura Americana); Museum Nacional de Art Contemporaneo, Madrid, July 16–August 11, 1958 (as La Nueva Pintura Americana); Hochschule für Bildende Kunste, Berlin, September 1–October 1, 1958 (as Die neue amerikanische Malerei); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, October 17–November 24, 1958 (as Jong Amerika schildert); Palais des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles, Brussels, December 6, 1958–January 4, 1959 (as La nouvelle peinture américaine); Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, January 16–February 15, 1959 (as Jackson Pollock et la nouvelle peinture américaine); Tate Gallery, London, February 24–March 22, 1959; Museum of Modern Art, New York, May 28–September 8, 1959.1962 Venice
XXXI Biennale di Venezia: Internazionale d'Arte, U.S. Pavilion, Venice, Italy, Arshile Gorky, June 16–October 7, 1962, no. 24, p. 114, as "Tenera notte".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. 118, ill. in b/w, p. 48; p. 56, as Soft Night. 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. 144, ill. in b/w, as "Zachte nacht / Soft night". 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. 100, ill. in b/w, as Soft Night.1968 CE–MoMA
Museum of Modern Art, New York, Department of Circulating Exhibitions (organizer), Dada, Surrealism, and Their Heritage, 1968. (Exhibition catalogue: Rubin 1967), no. 141, ill. in b/w, fig. 266, p. 172, as Soft Night. Traveled to: Museum of Modern Art, New York, March 27–June 9, 1968; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, July 16–September 8, 1968; Art Institute of Chicago, October 19–December 8, 1968.1976–77 New York
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Acquisition Priorities: Aspects of Postwar Painting in America; Including Arshile Gorky: Works 1944–1948, October 15, 1976–January 16, 1977, no. 4, ill. in b/w, p. 37, as Soft Night.1995–96 Fort Worth / Buffalo
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo (organizers), Arshile Gorky: The Breakthrough Years, 1995–96, no. 21, ill. in color, p. 131, as Soft Night. 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, 1996.1999 Barcelona
Centre Cultural de la Fundacio "la Caixa," Barcelona, Made in USA 1940–1970: De l'Expressionisme Abstracte al Pop, January 28–March 28, 1999. (Exhibition catalogue: Fundació la Caixa 1999), ill. in color, p. 48, as "Soft Night / Nit suau / Noche suave".1999 Frankfurt
Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Between Art and Life: Vom Abstrakten Expressionismus zur Pop Art, April 30–July 10, 1999, ill. in color, p. 54, as Soft Night.2009–10 Philadelphia
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective, October 15, 2009–January 10, 2010. (Exhibition catalogue: Taylor 2009a), pl. 180, ill. in color, p. 343; p. 392, as Soft Night. 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).2019 Venice
Ca'Pesaro International Gallery of Modern Art, Venice, Italy, Arshile Gorky: 1904–1948, May 8–September 22, 2019, ill. in color, p. 125, as Soft Night.Literature
Greenberg 1948b
Greenberg, Clement. "Art." The Nation (New York) 166 (March 20, 1948), discussed p. 332, as Soft Night.Artnews 1948c
"Reviews and Previews: Arshile Gorky." Artnews (New York) 47 (December 1948), discussed p. 54, as Soft Night.The Tiger's Eye 1949
Stephan, John, and Ruth Stephan, eds. "Soft Night: Arshile Gorky." The Tiger's Eye (New York) 1, no. 9 (October 15, 1949), ill. in b/w, p. 51; p. 71, as Soft Night.Avakian 1951
Avakian, Hovaness. "ՆԿԱՐԱՀԱՆԴԷՍ Ի ՅԻՇԱՏԱԿ ԱՐՇԻԼ ԿՕՐՔԻԻ (ՄԱՆՈՒԿ ԱՏՕԵԱՆԻ) [Memorial Exhibit of our Arshile Gorky (Manoog Adoian)]." Gotchnag (Armenian Weekly) (New York) 51, no. 4 (January 27, 1951), discussed, p. 83, as "Մեղմ գիշեր" [Soft Night].de Kooning 1951
de Kooning, Elaine. "Gorky: Painter of his Own Legend." Artnews (New York) 49, no. 9 (January 1951), discussed p. 65, as Soft Night.Loftus 1952
Loftus, John. "Arshile Gorky: A Monograph." M.A. Thesis, Columbia University, New York, 1952, pl. XXXVI, ill. in b/w, as Soft Night.Arti Visive 1957
"Special issue on Gorky in Italian and English with text by Toti Scialoja and excerpts from Schwabacher 1957." Arti Visive 6–7 (Summer 1957), no. 20, ill. in b/w, as Soft Night.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. 62, ill. in b/w, p. 135, as Soft Night.Rosenberg 1960
Rosenberg, Harold. "Arshile Gorky: The Last Move." The Hudson Review (New York) 13 (Spring 1960), discussed p. 110, as Soft Night.Green Bay Press - Gazette 1961
Levin, Meyer, and Eli Meyer. "Inside Art: Soyer in humorous swipe at paintings." Green Bay Press - Gazette (WI), October 22, 1961, ill. in b/w, p. E6.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. 70, ill. in b/w, p. 348, as Soft Night.Rosenberg 1961
Rosenberg, Harold. "Arshile Gorky, His Art and His Influence." Portfolio & Artnews Annual (New York), no. 5 (1961), ill. in b/w, p. 107, as Soft Night.Boatto 1962
Boatto, Alberto. "L'itinerario di Gorky." Arte Oggi (Rome) 14 (June–December 1962), discussed p. 15, as "Tenera notte".Rosenberg 1962a
Rosenberg, Harold. Arshile Gorky: The Man, the Time, the Idea. New York: Horizon Press, 1962. Monograph, ill. in b/w, p. 113, as Soft Night.Reiff 1963a
Reiff, Robert. "The Late Works of Arshile Gorky: A Critical Estimate." Art Journal (New York) 22, no. 3 (Spring 1963), discussed pp. 149–50, as Soft Night.Levy 1966
Levy, Julien. Arshile Gorky. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1966. Monograph, pl. 189, ill. in b/w, p. 213, as Soft Night.Rubin 1967
Rubin, William. Dada, Surrealism, and Their Heritage. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1967. Exhibition catalogue (1968 CE–MoMA), no. 141, ill. in b/w, p. 172, as Soft Night.Bird 1976
Bird, David. "Bellevue to Sell Valuable Art Legacy." New York Times, May 13, 1976, ill. in b/w, p. 57, as Soft Night.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 p. 91, as Soft Night.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. 350, ill. in b/w (repr. 90 degrees counterclockwise), p. 529–31, as Soft Night.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. 89, ill. in b/w, as Soft Night.Weil 1995
Weil, Rex. "Arshile Gorky." Artnews (New York) 94 (September 1995), discussed p. 147, as Soft Nights.Balakian 1996
Balakian, Peter. "Arshile Gorky and the Armenian Genocide." Art in America (New York) 84 (February 1996), discussed p. 59, as Soft Night.Mattison 2009
Matttison, Robert S. Arshile Gorky: Works and Writings. Barcelona: Ediciones Polígrafica, 2009. Monograph, ill. in color, p. 126, as Soft Night.Alberro 2010
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, 213, as Soft Night.Devaney and Wurst 2016
Davaney, Edith, with Christian Wurst. "Chronology." In Abstract Expressionism. London: Royal Academy Publications, 2016. Exhibition catalogue (2016–17 London), fig. 83, ill. in color, p. 117, as Soft Night.Wullschläger 2019
Wullschläger, Jackie. "Abstraction in Venice — Jean Arp, Arshile Gorky and Helen Frankenthaler." The Financial Times (London), May 18, 2019 (accessed online), discussed, as Soft Night.Notes
Commentary
The painting's overall composition is prefigured in a drawing from 1946 (see related work).
Gorky titled the painting Soft Night in preparation for its 1948 showing at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York, which took place several months before his death in July of that year.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
John (1906–1995) and Ruth (1910–1974) Stephan acquired the painting from the February 1948 solo exhibition at Julien Levy Gallery. The Stephans were the editors and publishers of The Tiger's Eye, a distinguished arts quarterly that the couple founded in 1947 and ran for four years. Ruth, a poet and writer, and John, a painter, were important promoters of Abstract Expressionism.
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.
![[Drawing, Soft Night]1946 D1237](https://cdn.panopticoncr.com/arshgor001/catalogue_images/main_sm/fhkugkkp/D_1237-1.jpg "[Drawing, Soft Night]1946 D1237")