Arshile Gorky Catalogue Raisonné
Print this page

Catalogue Entry

enlarge
Photo: © Arshile Gorky Estate Archive
[Untitled], c.  1928–31, P386. Verso: Detail of reverse inscription, on canvas, at upper right.
Detail of reverse inscription, on canvas, at upper right.
Photo: Prudence Cuming. Courtesy of the BBC.
[Untitled], c.  1928–31, P386. Verso: Detail of the reverse inscription, on left stretcher bar, at center. Courtesy of the BBC.
Detail of the reverse inscription, on left stretcher bar, at center. Courtesy of the BBC.
Photo: Prudence Cuming. Courtesy of the BBC.
P386
[Untitled]
c. 1928–31
Oil on canvas
64 x 47 in. (162.6 x 119.4 cm)
Front not inscribed
Reverse, on canvas, upper right: ↑ TOP / 1928-1929–31 / GORKY; in pencil, left stretcher bar, center: [paraph] / Gorky / 1930 / May [circled] / 47 x 64 [circled] / New / York
Exhibitions
Mellon Galleries, Philadelphia, Arshile Gorky, February 2–15, 1934.
Notes
The inscriptions on the reverse are known from the records of the Arshile Gorky Foundation.

Commentary

The painting is only known from an archival photograph, in which we also see the art dealer C. Philip Boyer (1892–1981) in his office at the Mellon Galleries in Philadelphia (see main image).1 Gorky's canvas is prominently displayed on the wall behind him. An inscription on the back of the photo, written by Gorky's first wife Marny George (m. 1934–36), reads: "This is not my husband but it is my husband's picture in the Mellon Gallery, Phil. The man by [the] phone is [the] director of gallery."2 The photograph likely dates to around February 1934, when Boyer arranged Gorky's first solo exhibition in the United States at the Mellon Galleries. This Cubist painting is likely one of the thirty-seven selected works that the show presented.3 

After Boyer returned the painting to Gorky's studio, it appears that the artist reworked the composition several times over several years. A technical analysis, including x-radiograph and infrared imaging as well as a thin section and XRF analysis of two paint samples, suggests that there are three distinct campaigns of work: the Cubist composition; a composition related to The Betrothal (see related work); and the uppermost white-gray paint.Based on these findings, it appears that Gorky reworked the canvas c. 1947.

In 1965, while preparing Arshile Gorky: Paintings and Drawings, a retrospective organized by the Arts Council of Great Britain, London (see 1965 AC-London), in collaboration with the Estate of Arshile Gorky, Alexander Dunluce Antrim, then restorer at the Tate Gallery, London (later Keeper of Conservation at the Tate, 1975–95), attempted to remove the uppermost white-gray coat of paint that Gorky had applied c. 1947. Antrim was unable to successfully remove the entirety of the layer of paint in time for the opening of the Arts Council’s exhibition and, therefore, the work was not included. The painting remained in Antrim's possession until his death in 2021.5 Between 1965 and 2023, several additional attempts to remove the coat of paint were undertaken, resulting in the artwork’s present condition (see supplementary photographs showing the painting as of December 2022 and March 2023).

It is well known that Gorky frequently returned to work on the same canvas over many years, however, little documentation exists of his reworkings. In this instance, the archival photograph and technical analysis provide rare documentary evidence of the artist’s practice of prolonged modifications. As Gorky stated in his last interview in February 1948: “I don’t like that word ‘finish.’ . . . I never finish a painting––I just stop working on it for a while.”6

1. Photograph of C. Philip Boyer, Estate of Arshile Gorky Archive.

2. Emphasis is George's.

3. The thirty-seven works that appeared in the exhibition have not been conclusively identified as any of the artworks within the current installment of the catalogue raisonné. Mellon GalleriesPhiladelphiaArshile GorkyFebruary 2–15, 1934.

4. The technical analysis and images are known from a report dated October 17, 2022, authored by Dr. Aviva Burnstock, Professor of Conservation at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London. In a 1953 inventory of the Estate’s collection, the painting is described as no. 79: “V. Large canvas / completely covered.” Agnes “Mogouch” Gorky Phillips, “Arshile Gorky: Paintings (Early & Late) in Hayes Storage & Janis Gallery,” 1953, Estate of Arshile Gorky Archive.

5. The post-1953 history of the painting is found in a handwritten statement, dated October 22, 2019, by Alexander Antrim, Arshile Gorky Foundation Archive, courtesy of Liza Antrim.

6. Arshile Gorky, as quoted in Talcott B. Clapp, “A Painter in a Glass House,” Sunday Republican Magazine (February 29, 1948): 3.

[Untitled], c.  1928–31, P386. Condition of the painting as of December 2022. Courtesy of the BBC.
Condition of the painting as of December 2022. Courtesy of the BBC.
Photo: Prudence Cuming. Courtesy of the BBC.
[Untitled], c.  1928–31, P386. Condition of the painting as of March 2023.
Condition of the painting as of March 2023.
Photo: Courtesy of the BBC.
Related Work
loading