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Provenance
Exhibitions
San Francisco Museum of Art, Arshile Gorky, August 9–24, 1941, as "Portrait of My Mother," dated 1921.
Arts Club of Chicago, Drawings 1916/1966, February 28–March 11, 1966, no. 35, ill. in b/w, as "The Artist's Mother".
Peale Galleries, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Paintings and Drawings by Arshile Gorky, November 9–December 10, 1967, no. 9, as "The Artist's Mother".
J. Millard Tawes Fine Arts Center, University of Maryland Art Department and Art Gallery, College Park, The Drawings of Arshile Gorky, March 20–April 27, 1969. (Exhibition catalogue: Joyner 1969), no. 1 (Portrait and Figure Drawings), p. 55; fig. 5, ill. in b/w, p. 27, as "The Artist's Mother," dated 1926–36?
M. Knoedler & Co. Inc, New York, Gorky: Drawings, November 25–December 27, 1969. (Exhibition catalogue: Jordan 1969), no. 47, ill. in b/w, p. 30; p. 57, as "The Artist's Mother," dated 1929–36.
Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, Florida, Drawings from the Art Institute of Chicago, January 5–27, 1974, no. 24, ill. in b/w, as "The Artist's Mother".
1974 Milwaukee likely
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Arshile Gorky: Drawings and Paintings, April 29–May 10, 1974, as "The Artist's Mother".Hayden Gallery, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Drawings by Five Abstract Expressionist Painters: Arshile Gorky, Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, Philip Guston, February 21–March 26, 1975, no. 1, ill. in b/w, p. 21, as "The Artist's Mother," dated 1926.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Twentieth Century American Drawing: Three Avant-Garde Generations, January 23–March 28, 1976, no. 78, ill. in b/w, p. 63, as "The Artist's Mother". Traveled to: Staatliche Kunsthalle, Baden-Baden, Germany, May 27–July 11, 1976; Kunsthalle, Bremen, Germany, July 18–August 29, 1976.
Wildenstein & Co, New York, and Department of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University, New York (organizers), Wildenstein & Co, Modern Portraits: The Self & Others, October 20–November 28, 1976, no. 41, ill. in b/w, p. 58; discussed p. 184, as "The Artist's Mother".
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., American Portrait Drawings, May 1–August 3, 1980, ill. in b/w, p. 131, as "The Artist's Mother".
Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou, Paris, Les Réalismes, 1919–1939, December 17, 1980–April 20, 1981, ill. in b/w, p. 263, as "La Mère de l'artiste". Traveled to: Staatliche Kunsthalle, Berlin, May 10–June 30, 1981.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Arshile Gorky 1904–1948: A Retrospective, April 24–July 19, 1981, no. 72, ill. in b/w, p. 119, as "The Artist's Mother," dated 1938. Traveled to: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, September 12–November 6, 1981; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, December 3, 1981–February 28, 1982.
Art Institute of Chicago, Great Drawings from the Art Institute of Chicago: The Harold Joachim Years 1958–1983, July 24–September 30, 1985, no. 100, ill. in color, p. 213, as "The Artist's Mother". Traveled to: Saint Louis Art Museum, March 10–May 16, 1986.
Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington, New York, The Artist's Mother: Portraits and Homages, November 14, 1987–January 3, 1988, no. 7, ill. in b/w, p. 35, as "The Artist's Mother" (shown in Washington, D.C. only). Traveled to: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., March 26–June 5, 1988.
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective of Drawings, November 20, 2003–February 15, 2004, no. 4, ill. in color, p. 23; p. 242, as "The Artist's Mother," dated 1926 or 1936. 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. 30, ill. in color, p. 188; p. 386, as "The Artist's Mother," dated c. 1926–36, [exhibited in Philadelphia only]. 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
Coke, Van Deren. The Painter and the Photograph. Albuequerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1964, fig. 161, ill. in b/w, p. 68, as "The Artist's Mother".
Levy, Julien. Arshile Gorky. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1966. Monograph, pl. 22, ill. in b/w, p. 46, as "The Artist's Mother," n.d.
Mooradian, Karlen. "Arshile Gorky: The Prompter." Harvard Art Review (Cambridge, MA) 2, no. 1 (Winter 1967), ill. in b/w, p. 36, as "The Artist's Mother".
Mooradian, Karlen. "The Gardener from Eden." Ararat (New York) 9 (Winter 1968), ill. in b/w, p. 2, as "The Artist's Mother".
Kramer, Hilton. "Arshile Gorky: Between Two Worlds." New York Times, December 7, 1969, ill. in b/w, p. D29, as "The Artist's Mother".
Maxon, John. The Art Institute of Chicago. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1970, ill. in b/w, p. 171.
Mooradian, Karlen. "A Special Issue on Arshile Gorky." David Kherdian, ed. Ararat (New York) 12 (Fall 1971), ill. in b/w (detail), back cover, as "The Artist's Mother".
Auer, James. "A Gorky Sampler." The Milwaukee Journal, May 5, 1974, discussed p. 6, as "a haunting 1926 charcoal drawing of the artist's mother".
Kramer, Hilton. "Art View: What Is a Drawing? Where Can We Draw the Line?" New York Times, February 1, 1976, discussed, sec. 2, p. 31.
Mooradian, Karlen. Arshile Gorky Adoian. Chicago: Gilgamesh Press, 1978. Monograph, fig. 1, ill. in b/w (detail), p. vi; fig. 77, ill. in b/w, p. 163, as "The Artist's Mother (Lady Shushanik)," dated 1938.
Mooradian, Karlen. The Many Worlds of Arshile Gorky. Chicago: Gilgamesh Press, 1980. Monograph, fig. 1, ill. in b/w, p. xvi, as "Lady Shushanik, The Artist's Mother".
Rand, Harry. Arshile Gorky: The Implication of Symbols. Montclair, NJ: Allanheld, Osmun & Co. Publishers Inc., and London: George Prior Associated Publishers Ltd., 1981. Monograph, fig. 2–14, p. 27, as "The Artist's Mother," dated 1929(?)
Shone, Richard. "Paris. Les Réalismes and Other Exhibitions." The Burlington Magazine (London) 123 (April 1981), fig. 106, ill. in b/w, p. 252, as "The Artist's Mother".
Karp, Diane. "Arshile Gorky: The Language of Art." Ph.D. diss., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1982, fig. 21, ill. in b/w, p. 189, as "The Artist's Mother".
Mooradian, Karlen. "The Wars of Arshile Gorky." Ararat (New York) 24 (Autumn 1983), discussed p. 12, as "The Artist's Mother".
Lader, Melvin P. "Arshile Gorky's The Artist and His Mother: Further Study of Its Evolution, Sources, and Meaning." Arts Magazine (New York) 58 (January 1984), fig. 5, ill. in b/w, p. 98, as "The Artist's Mother".
Lader, Melvin P. Arshile Gorky. New York: Abbeville Press, 1985. Monograph, fig. 51, ill. in b/w, p. 56, as "The Artist's Mother".
Tedeschi, Martha. Great Drawings from the Art Institute of Chicago: the Harold Joachim Years, 1958–1983. Chicago and New York: Art Institute of Chicago and Hudson Hills Press, 1985, no. 100, ill. in color, p. 213, as "The Artist's Mother".
Rand, Harry. "Gorky In Virginia." Arts in Virginia 26, no. 1 (1986), fig. 11, ill. in b/w, p. 10, as "The Artist's Mother".
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. 11, ill. in b/w, p. 27, as "The Artist's Mother," dated 1938.
Rand, Harry. Arshile Gorky: The Implication of Symbols. Rev. ed. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1991. Monograph, fig. 2–14, ill. in b/w, p. 30, as "The Artist's Mother," dated 1929(?)
Matossian, Nouritza. Black Angel: The Life of Arshile Gorky. London: Chatto & Windus, 1998, pl. 1, ill. in b/w, as "The Artist's Mother," dated 1938.
Arshile Gorky Portraits. New York: Gagosian Gallery, 2002. Exhibition catalogue (2002d New York), ill. in color (detail), pp. 30–31; ill. in color, pp. 32–33, as "The Artist's Mother," dated c. 1926–36.
Herrera, Hayden. Arshile Gorky: His Life and Work. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2003, fig. 49, ill. in b/w, as "The Artist's Mother".
Kimmelman, Michael. "Arshile Gorky, Poet of Line and Color." New York Times, November 28, 2003, ill. in b/w, p. 47, as "The Artist's Mother".
Anfam, David. "Arshile Gorky: New York and Houston." The Burlington Magazine (London) 146 (March 2004), fig. 81, ill. in b/w, p. 206, as "The Artist's Mother".
Rushing, W. Jackson. "Arshile Gorky's Inner Infinity." Art on Paper (New York) 8, no. 4 (March–April 2004), ill. in b/w, p. 66, as "The Artist's Mother".
Cooksey, Chelsea L. "Arshile Gorky: The Abstraction of Symbol, Figure, and Form." M.A. Thesis, Purchase College, State University of New York, 2009, fig. 52, ill. in color, p. 81; fig. 56, ill. in color, p. 83, as "The Artist's Mother".
Thurman, Judith. The Artist's Mother: The Greatest Painters Pay Tribute to the Women Who Rocked Their Cradles. New York and London: Overlook Duckworth and Peter Mayer Publishers, Inc., 2009, ill. in color, p. 106, as "The Artist's Mother".
Theriault, Kim S. Rethinking Arshile Gorky. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2009. Monograph, fig. 8, ill. in b/w, p. 41, as "The Artist's Mother," dated 1926 or 1936.
Rich, Sarah K. "Arshile Gorky: Philadelphia Museum of Art." Artforum (New York) 48, no. 6 (February 2010), ill. in color, p. 192, as "The Artist's Mother".
Agee, William C. "Graham, Gorky, de Kooning: A New Classicism, an Alternate Modernism." In American Vanguards: Graham, Davis, Gorky, de Kooning, and Their Circle, 1927–1942. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2012. Exhibition catalogue, fig. 47, ill. in b/w, p. 141, as "The Artist's Mother".
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. 161, as "The Artist's Mother," dated 1926 or 1936.
Notes
Watermark / Stamp: Michallet
Gorky and his mother, Shushan Der Marderosian Adoian, Van, c. 1912. Unknown photographer (likely Hovhannes Avedaghayan). Courtesy of Dr. Bruce Berberian.
Portraits (sitter identified): Shushan der Marderosian (artist's mother)
Related Work
Theme: Portraits and heads
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