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Photo: © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, NY
D0639
Abstraction: Study for Mural at Newark Airport
1936
Gouache and graphite pencil on paper mounted on board
Image: 13 9/16 x 30 3/16 in. (34.4 x 76.7 cm)
Sheet: 18 5/8 x 36 1/4 in. (47.3 x 92.1 cm)
Recto not inscribed
Verso not seen
Verso not seen
Exhibitions
Museum of Modern Art, New York, Department of Circulating Exhibitions (organizer), 35 under 35, 1940–41, as Abstraction: Study for Mural at Newark Airport. Traveled to: Museum of Modern Art, New York, April 3–28, 1940; Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, October 18–November 1, 1940; University Gallery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, November 11–25, 1940; Portland Art Museum, Oregon, December 7–21, 1940; Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, January 13–27, 1941; Kaufmann Department Stores, Inc., Pittsburgh, February 1–15, 1941; Bennett College, Greensboro, North Carolina, April 7–21, 1941; Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, Ruston, April 28–May 12, 1941; Isaac Delgado Museum of Art, New Orleans, May 18–June 2, 1941.
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Arshile Gorky Memorial Exhibition, January 5–February 18, 1951, no. 58, p. 47, as "Study for Newark Airport Murals," dated c. 1936. Traveled to: Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, March 4–April 22, 1951; San Francisco Museum of Art, California, May 9–July 9, 1951.
Museum of Modern Art, New York, Department of Circulating Exhibitions (organizer), U.S. Government Art Projects: Some Distinguished Alumni, 1963–64, no. 7, as "Study for Mural for Administration Building, Newark Airport". Traveled to: Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Ohio, February 11–March 4, 1963; Mercer University, Macon, Georgia, March 19–April 9, 1963; University of Nevada, Reno, April 24–May 19, 1963; Tacoma Art League, Washington, May 30–June 20, 1963; Washington Gallery of Modern Art, D.C., July 8–September 1, 1963; State University of New York, Oswego, September 18–October 9, 1963; Cranbrook Academy of Art Galleries, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, October 21–November 11, 1963; Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota, November 22–December 13, 1963; Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, January 2–23, 1964; Pomona College, Claremont, California, February 7–28, 1964.
J. Millard Tawes Fine Arts Center, University of Maryland Art Department, College Park, Federal Art Patronage: 1933–1943, April 6–May 13, 1966, no. 33, ill. in b/w, fig. 22, p. 34, as "Abstraction".
Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association, West Orange, New Jersey, WPA Artists: Then and Now, October 29–November 26, 1967, no. 19, ill. in b/w, n.p., as "Study for a Mural for Administration Building, Newark Airport, New Jersey," dated 1935–36.
Gallery Association of New York State, Oswego, New York (organizer), The New Deal for Art: The Government Art Projects of the 1930s with Examples from New York City and State, 1977–78, no. 93, ill. in b/w, as "Study for a mural, Aviation". Traveled to: Tyler Art Gallery, State University of New York College of Arts and Sciences, Oswego, January 25–February 13, 1977; Picker Gallery, Colgate University, Hamilton, New York, February 27–March 20, 1977; C.W. Post College, Long Island University, Greenvale, New York, March–April 1977; Albany Institute of History and Art, New York, May 17–June 8, 1977; Lowe Art Gallery, Syracuse University, New York, June 1977; Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, July 29–August 28, 1977; Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, New York, September 4–25, 1977; Foskick-Nelson Gallery, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, October 1977; Grey Art Gallery, New York University, November 17, 1977–January 3, 1978; Huntington Galleries, West Virginia, January 10–February 3, 1978.
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. 11, ill. in color, p. 73, as "Study for Aviation," dated 1935–36. 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.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Arshile Gorky 1904–1948: A Retrospective, April 24–July 19, 1981, no. 86, ill. in b/w, p. 131, as "Study for a Mural for Administration Building, Newark Airport, New Jersey," dated 1935–36. Traveled to: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, September 12–November 6, 1981; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, December 3, 1981–February 28, 1982.
Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Abstract Painting and Sculpture in America, 1927–1944, November 5–December 31, 1983, no number, ill. in b/w, fig. 12, p. 152, as "Activities on the Field" (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.
Brooklyn Museum, New York, The Machine Age in America 1918–1941, October 17, 1986–February 16, 1987, no. 239, fig. 9.10, ill. in color, p. 347, as "Study for a mural for Administration Building, Newark Airport, Newark, N.J." Traveled to: Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, April 4–June 28, 1987; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, August 16–October 18, 1987; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, December 1, 1987–February 14, 1988.
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective of Drawings, November 20, 2003–February 15, 2004, no. 51, ill. in color, p. 109; p. 243, as "Study for Activities in the Field (Mural for Administration Building, Newark Airport, New Jersey)," dated 1935–36. Traveled to: Menil Collection, Houston, March 5–May 9, 2004.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective, October 15, 2009–January 10, 2010. (Exhibition catalogue: Taylor 2009a), pl. 78, ill. in color, p. 235; fig. 61, detail; p. 388, as "Study for "Activities on the Field," for "Aviation: Evolution of Forms under Aerodynamic Limitations" (Newark Airport Mural)," dated 1935–36. 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
Painting and Sculpture in the Museum of Modern Art: A Catalog. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1958, discussed p. 27, as "Study for a Mural for Administration Building, Newark Airport, New Jersey".
Rose, Barbara. American Art Since 1900: A Critical History. New York & Washington: Frederick A. Praeger, Inc., 1967, 5-13, ill. in b/w, p. 127, as "Aviation: Evolution of Forms Under Aerodynamic Limitations, Study," c. 1936.
Wasserman, Emily. The American Scene—Early Twentieth Century Art. Rev. ed. Milan: Fratelli Fabbri Editori and New York: McCall Publishing Company, 1970, pl. 49, ill. in color, p. 67, as "Study for a Mural for the Administration Building, Newark Airport, New Jersey".
Hunter, Sam. American Art of the Twentieth Century. With sections on architecture by John Jacobus. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1972, 1973, pl. 355, ill. in b/w, p. 200, as "Study for a mural for the Administration Building, Newark Airport, Newark, NJ".
McKinzie, Richard D. The New Deal for Artists. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973, fig. 76, ill. in b/w, p. 167, as "study for mural in the administration building, Newark Airport, New Jersey".
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. 308, as "Study for a Mural for Administration Building, Newark Airport," On extended loan from the United States WPA Art Program. E.L.39.1811.
Winship, Frederick M. "When American Artists Got a 'New Deal.'" International Herald Tribune (Paris), December 21, 1977, ill. in b/w, p. 14, as "Aviation: Evolution of Forms Under Aerodynamic Limitations".
Jordan, Jim M. "The Place of the Newark Murals in Gorky's Art." In Murals Without Walls: Arshile Gorky's Aviation Murals Rediscovered, by Ruth Bowman. Newark, NJ: The Newark Museum, 1978, ill. in b/w, p. 46, as "Activities on the Field," Photograph of left side of North wall of lost model.
Brown, Milton W., Sam Hunter, et al. American Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Decorative Arts, Photography. Theresa C. Brakeley. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1979, ill. in b/w , p. 458 , pl. 492, as "Study for a Mural for Administration Building, Newark Airport".
Duppen, Leo. "De Poetische Schilderkunst van Arshile Gorky." Kunstbeeld (Amsterdam) (June–July 1981), ill. in b/w (upside down), as "Study for a mural".
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. 57–61, as "Activities on the Field".
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. 141g, ill. in b/w, p. 273, as "Study for Activities on the Field, left panel".
Waldman, Diane. Willem de Kooning. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1988, fig. 9, ill. in b/w, p. 22, as "Study for a mural for Administration Building, Newark Airport, New Jersey".
Matossian, Nouritza. Black Angel: The Life of Arshile Gorky. London: Chatto & Windus, 1998, pl. 20, ill. in b/w, as "Mural study for Newark Airport, New Jersey," dated 1935–36.
Matttison, Robert S. Arshile Gorky: Works and Writings. Barcelona: Ediciones Polígrafica, 2009. Monograph, ill. in color, p. 48, as "Study for "Activities on the Field," for "Aviation: Evolution of Forms under Aerodynamic Limitations" (Newark Airport Mural)," dated 1935–36.
Patterson, Jody. "'Flight from Reality'? A Reconsideration of Gorky's Politics and Approach to Public Murals in the 1930s." In Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective, edited by Michael Taylor. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2009. Exhibition catalogue, fig. 61, ill. in color (detail), p. 84, as "Study for "Activities on the Field," for "Aviation: Evolution of Forms under Aerodynamic Limitations" (Newark Airport Mural)".
Theriault, Kim S. Rethinking Arshile Gorky. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2009. Monograph, pl. 14, ill. in color, as "Activities on the Field," dated 1935–36.
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. 103, as "Study for a Mural for Administration Building, Newark Airport, New Jersey," dated 1935–36.
Patterson, Jody. Modernism for the Masses: Painters, Politics, and Public Murals in 1930s New York. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2020, fig. 30, ill. in color, p. 91, as "Study for 'Activities on the Field,' for 'Aviation: Evolution of Forms under Aerodynamic Limitations' (Newark Airport Mural)," dated 1935–36.
Notes
The paper was mounted on board by someone other than the artist.
On loan: Museum of Modern Art, New York, August 8, 1939–present.
Commentary
This is a preparatory drawing for one of two panels that formed the north wall of Gorky's Newark Airport mural cycle, which he completed for the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project (WPA/FAP) between 1935 and 1937 (see P141).
Although the WPA/FAP gave the Newark Airport commission the overarching title of Aviation: Evolution of Forms Under Aerodynamic Limitations, by December 1936, Gorky had selected distinct titles for each of the four walls on which the mural cycle was suspended (North, South, East, and West). He designated the two-panel north wall series Activities on the Field.1
In a written interpretation submitted in December 1936, at the request of the WPA/FAP's Washington Office, Gorky offered the following description of his composition: "A plastic operation is imperative, and that is why, in the first panel of Activities on the Field I dissected an airplane into its constituent parts. An airplane is composed of a variety of shapes and forms and I have used such elemental forms as a rudder, a wing, a wheel and a searchlight to create not only numerical interest but also to invent, within a given wall space, plastic symbols of aviation. These symbols are the permanent elements of airplanes that will not change with the change of design. These symbols, these forms, I have used in paralyzing disproportions in order to impress upon the spectator the miraculous new vision of our time. To add to the aggressiveness of these shapes, I have used such local colors as are to be seen on the aviation field—red, blue, yellow, black, gray, brown—because these colors were used originally to sharpen the objects so that they could be seen clearly and quickly."2
The drawing is catalogued with the title under which it was first exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in April 1940.
1. Arshile Gorky, "My Murals for the Newark Airport: An Interpretation," December 1936, handwritten manuscript, v-vi, AGF Archives.
2. Ibid.
Activities on the Field, from Aviation: Evolution of Forms Under Aerodynamic Limitations, in the WPA/FAP studio, 1936. The panel was ultimately installed on the north wall of the second-floor foyer, Newark Airport Administration Building.
Photo: © Arshile Gorky Estate Archive
Activities on the Field, from Aviation: Evolution of Forms Under Aerodynamic Limitations, in the WPA/FAP studio, 1936. The panel was ultimately installed on the north wall of the second-floor foyer, Newark Airport Administration Building.
Photo: © Arshile Gorky Estate Archive
Activities on the Field, from Aviation: Evolution of Forms Under Aerodynamic Limitations, in the WPA/FAP studio, 1936. The panel was ultimately installed on the north wall of the second-floor foyer, Newark Airport Administration Building.
Photo: © Arshile Gorky Estate Archive
Gorky at work on Activities on the Field, from Aviation: Evolution of Forms Under Aerodynamic Limitations, in the WPA/FAP studio, 1936. The panel was ultimately installed on the north wall of the second-floor foyer, Newark Airport Administration Building.
© Federal Art Project Photographic Division Collection. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
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Theme: Mural
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