Arshile Gorky
The Unattainable
1944
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Arshile Gorky
The Unattainable
1944
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, Framed: 43 7/8 x 31 7/8 x 2 3/8 in. (111.4 x 81 x 6 cm) Unframed: 41 1/4 x 29 1/4 in. (104.8 x 74.3 cm)
Credit Line
Purchase with exchange funds from Blanche Adler Bequest, Frederic W. Cone, William A. Dickey, Jr., Nelson and Juanita Greif Gutman Collection, Wilmer Hoffman, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Lion, Saidie A. May Bequest, Philip B. Perlman Bequest, Leo M. Rogers, Mrs. James N. Rosenberg, and Paul Vallotton
Object Number
1964.15
Delicate forms made of thinned paint seem to appear and fade away. Arshile Gorky embraced Surrealism, an approach to art that sought to give visual form to subconscious thoughts, and infused it with his memories of Armenia. With The Unattainable, Gorky used oil paint as a medium for fine, calligraphic drawing,
as if to channel the unfiltered impulses of his mind more fluidly. Gorky and his sister immigrated to America in 1920 as refugees from the Armenian Genocide. Their forced departure and their mother’s death during the journey had a lasting impact on his art. By the 1940s, Gorky was established in New York and in the
circles of Surrealist artists who had relocated from Europe due to the turmoil of World War II (1939–1945).
Edgar A Levy; Julien Levy; Sidney Janis Gallery; Barney Rosset; purchased from Harold Diamond; Paul Kantor Gallery
Museum of Modern Art, New York, "Fourteen Americans," 1946, no. 35, ill. p. 21.
Julien Levy Gallery, 1946, no. 11.
Yale University Gallery, "35 American Painters of Today," 1950, no. 9.
Whitney Museum of American Art, "Arshile Gorky Memorial Exhibition," 1951, no. 41, p. 34, ill. p. 35; circulated to Walker Art Center and San Francisco Museum of Art.
Princeton University, 1952, no. 13.
Sidney Janis Gallery, 1953, no. 8 Sidney Janis Gallery 1957, no. 21
Museum of Modern Art, "Arshile Gorky," 1962, no. 79, ill. p. 34, circulated to Washington, D.C.; Gallery of Modern Art.
Venice Biennale, 1962, no. 19.
Arts Council of Great Britain, "Arshile Gorky," April 1965, no. 69, circulated to Tate Gallery, London; Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels; Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam, through August 1965.
Stedelijk van Abbe-Museum, Eindhoven (Netherlands), "Kompas III," November 9-December 17, 1967, no. 5, ill. p. 36, circulated to Frankfurter Kunstverein through February 1968.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, '20th Century Paintings and Sculpture,' June 24-September 7, 1969.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, "New York Painting and Sculpture: 1940-1970," October 18, 1969-February 1, 1970, ill. p. 159.
Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, "Against Order: Chance and Art," November 13-December 22, 1970.
University of Texas at Austin, "Arshile Gorky," Oct. 19-Nov 23, 1975; plus two other locations.
The Baltimore Museum of Art and USIA, "200 Years of American Painting," June 30-Dec. 15, 1976; traveled to Bonn, Belgrade, Warsaw and Rome. catalogue.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, "Arshile Gorky 1904-1948: A Retrospective," April 23-July 19, 1981, no. 183, circulated to Dallas Museum of Fine Arts and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, through February 28, 1982.
Gagosian Gallery, New York, "Arshile Gorky: A Ninetieth Birthday Commemoration," January 11-March 5, 1994.
Brooklyn Museum of Art, "Vital Forms: American Art and Design in the Atomic Age, 1940-1960," October 12, 2001-January 6, 2002; ill. fig. 72, p.98-?
National Academy of Design, Surrealism in America, 2/17/05 - 5/8/05; Phoenix Art Museum June 5 - September 25, 2005.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art, "Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective," October 20, 2009 - January 10, 2010 and circulating to Tate Modern, February 10 - May 3 2010, concluding at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, June 6 - September 20, 2010.
David Anfam and Edith Devaney, Royal Academy of Art, London, "Abstract Expressionism," September 24, 2016 - January 2, 2017, ill. fig. 18, p. 150. and circulating to Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, "Espressionismo Abstracto," February 3 - June 4, 2017, ill. fig. 16, p. 146..
Blanton Museum of Art, "In Creative Harmony: Three Artistic Partnerships", February 16, 2025 - July 20, 2025.
Julien Levy Gallery, 1946, no. 11.
Yale University Gallery, "35 American Painters of Today," 1950, no. 9.
Whitney Museum of American Art, "Arshile Gorky Memorial Exhibition," 1951, no. 41, p. 34, ill. p. 35; circulated to Walker Art Center and San Francisco Museum of Art.
Princeton University, 1952, no. 13.
Sidney Janis Gallery, 1953, no. 8 Sidney Janis Gallery 1957, no. 21
Museum of Modern Art, "Arshile Gorky," 1962, no. 79, ill. p. 34, circulated to Washington, D.C.; Gallery of Modern Art.
Venice Biennale, 1962, no. 19.
Arts Council of Great Britain, "Arshile Gorky," April 1965, no. 69, circulated to Tate Gallery, London; Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels; Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam, through August 1965.
Stedelijk van Abbe-Museum, Eindhoven (Netherlands), "Kompas III," November 9-December 17, 1967, no. 5, ill. p. 36, circulated to Frankfurter Kunstverein through February 1968.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, '20th Century Paintings and Sculpture,' June 24-September 7, 1969.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, "New York Painting and Sculpture: 1940-1970," October 18, 1969-February 1, 1970, ill. p. 159.
Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, "Against Order: Chance and Art," November 13-December 22, 1970.
University of Texas at Austin, "Arshile Gorky," Oct. 19-Nov 23, 1975; plus two other locations.
The Baltimore Museum of Art and USIA, "200 Years of American Painting," June 30-Dec. 15, 1976; traveled to Bonn, Belgrade, Warsaw and Rome. catalogue.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, "Arshile Gorky 1904-1948: A Retrospective," April 23-July 19, 1981, no. 183, circulated to Dallas Museum of Fine Arts and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, through February 28, 1982.
Gagosian Gallery, New York, "Arshile Gorky: A Ninetieth Birthday Commemoration," January 11-March 5, 1994.
Brooklyn Museum of Art, "Vital Forms: American Art and Design in the Atomic Age, 1940-1960," October 12, 2001-January 6, 2002; ill. fig. 72, p.98-?
National Academy of Design, Surrealism in America, 2/17/05 - 5/8/05; Phoenix Art Museum June 5 - September 25, 2005.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art, "Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective," October 20, 2009 - January 10, 2010 and circulating to Tate Modern, February 10 - May 3 2010, concluding at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, June 6 - September 20, 2010.
David Anfam and Edith Devaney, Royal Academy of Art, London, "Abstract Expressionism," September 24, 2016 - January 2, 2017, ill. fig. 18, p. 150. and circulating to Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, "Espressionismo Abstracto," February 3 - June 4, 2017, ill. fig. 16, p. 146..
Blanton Museum of Art, "In Creative Harmony: Three Artistic Partnerships", February 16, 2025 - July 20, 2025.
Ethel K. Schwabacher, 'Arshile Gorky,' New York, 1957, pp. 102, 115, ill. pl. 46.
Robert Rosenblum, Arshile Gorky, 'Arts,' 32:4, January 1958, p. 31.
Harold Rosenberg, 'Arshile Gorky,' New York, 1962, ill. p. 93.
William Rubin, Arshile Gorky, Surrealism and the New American Painting, 'Art International,' 7:2, February 1963, p. 36.
'Baltimore Museum of Art, News,' 27:2-4, 1964, ill. p. 48.
Accessions, 'Art Quarterly,' 27:3, 1964, p. 375, ill. p. 391.
Acquisitions, 'The Burlington Magazine,' 107:742, January 1965, p. 54, ill. p. 52, no. 69.
Robert L. Delevoy, 'Dimensions of the 20th Century 1900-1945,' Skira, 1965, p. 207, ill. p. 210.
David Sylvester, ed., 'The Book of Art,' vol. 8, Grolier Series, New York, 1965, ill. p. 62.
Julien Levy, 'Arshile Gorky,' New York, 1966, p. 35, ill. pl. 134.
William S. Rubin, 'Dada and Surrealist Art,' New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1969, ill. p. 392.
Henry Geldzahler, 'New York Painting and Sculpture: 1940-1970,' New York: E.P. Dutton, 1969, ill. p. 159.
Diane Waldman, 'Arshile Gorky 1904-1948: A Retrospective,' New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1981, pl. 183.
J. Jordan and Robert Goldwater, 'The Paintings of Arshile Gorky,' New York: New York University Press, 1982, p. 464, no. 302.
Diane Waldman, 'Willem de Kooning,' New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., in Association with The National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1988, ill. 38.
'Arshile Gorky: Late Paintings,' New York, Gagosian Gallery, 1994, ill. 33.
Barbara Ann Boese Wolanin, "The Orchestration of Color: The Paintings of Arthur B. Carles," New York: Hollis Taggart Galleries, 2000. p. 67, ill.
Brooke Kamin Rapaport and Kevin L. Stayton, 'Vital Forms: American Art and Design in the Atomic Age, 1940-1960,' Brooklyn Museum of Art (in association with Harry N. Abrams, Inc.), 2001, p. 98, ill.
Peter Walsh, "The Surreal Thing," 'Museums' (Winter 2005), pp. 57-59, p. 57 ill.
Michael R. Taylor, ed. "Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective," Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2009, no.134, p. 295, ill.
Matthew Gale, "Arshile Gorky: Enigma and Nostalgia," London: Tate Publishing, 2010, p. 96.
Greeley, Robin Adele, Samantha Kavky, Oliver Shell, and Oliver Tostmann. "Monsters & Myths: Surrealism and War in the 1930s and 1940s." New York, NY: Rizzoli Electa in association with The Baltimore Museum of Art and Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, 2018, ill.
Inscribed: Lower Right: A. Gorky/45
On View at the BMA
