Portrait of Myself and My Imaginary Wife

Date
Artist
Arshile Gorky, American, b. Dilkaya, Turkey, 1904–1948
Provenance
The artist, New York, to 1942
Joseph H. Hirshhorn, New York, 1942-17 May 1966
Gift of the Joseph H. Hirshhorn Foundation, 1966
Exhibition History
MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, New York. "Arshile Gorky: Paintings, Drawings, Studies," 17 December 1962-12 February 1963, no. 8. Tour: WASHINGTON GALLERY OF MODERN ART, Washington, DC, 12 March-14 April.
TATE GALLERY, London. "Arshile Gorky: Paintings and Drawings," 2 April-2 May 1965, no. 14. Tour: PALAIS DES BEAUX-ARTS, Brussels, 22 May-27 June; MUSEUM BOYMANS VAN BEUNINGEN, Rotterdam, 9 July-15 August.
HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. "Inaugural Exhibition," 4 October 1974-15 September 1975, no. 328, ill. p. 239; p. 697.
HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. "Arshile Gorky: The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection," 4 October-25 November 1979, catalogue by Phyllis D. Rosenzweig, no. 7, colorpl. p. 12; pp. 22-23, ill.
FUNDACION CAJA DE PENSIONES, Madrid. "Arshile Gorky: 1904-1948," 17 October-23 December 1989, no. 3, ill. p. 168; pp. 169, 195. Tour: WHITECHAPEL ART GALLERY, London, 19 January-25 March 1990.
GAGOSIAN GALLERY, New York. "Arshile Gorky: Portraits," 20 March-27 April 2002, ill. p. 49.
PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART. "Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective," 21 October 2009-10 January 2010, cat. Tour: TATE MODERN, London, 10 February-3 May; MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, Los Angeles, 6 June-20 September.
FONDAZIONE MUSEI CIVICI VENEZIA. "Arshile Gorky: 1904-1948," 9 May-22 September 2019, color ill. p. 84.
Published References
SCHWABACHER, ETHEL. Arshile Gorky (New York: Whitney Museum of American Art/Macmillan, 1957), fig. 3, p. 29.
SARKISAN, MARDIROS. "Arshile Gorky: A Struggle for Recognition," Hoosharar XLV, no. 3 (1 February 1958), ill. p. 8.
ROSENBERG, HAROLD. Arshile Gorky: The Man, The Time, The Idea (New York: Horizon Press, 1962), p. 48.
LEVY, JULIEN. Arshile Gorky (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1966), pl. 16.
LERNER, ABRAM, et al. The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1974), fig. 328, p. 239; p. 697.
HERRERA, HAYDEN. "The Artist's Self-Image: Self Portraits by Arshile Gorky," Arshile Gorky: Drawings to Paintings (University of Texas at Austin, 1975), fig. 10, pp. 53-54.
HERRERA, HAYDEN. "Gorky's Self-Portraits: The Artist by Himself," Art in America 64, no. 2 (March/April 1976), fig. 13, pp. 63-64.
ROSE, BARBARA. "Arshile Gorky and John Graham: Eastern Exiles in a Western World," Arts Magazine 50, no. 7 (March 1976), ill. p. 65.
QUAYTMAN, HARVEY. "Arshile Gorky's Early Paintings," Arts Magazine 50, no. 7 (March 1976), pp. 104-105.
REIFF, ROBERT F. A Stylistic Analysis of Arshile Gorky's Art from 1943-1948 (New York and London: Garland Publishing Inc., 1977), fig. 3, p. 281; p. 5.
SOYER, RAPHAEL. Diary of an Artist (Washington, DC: New Republic Books, 1977), p. 244.
SUENAGA, TERUKAZU. "Mirror of Memory: Gorky's Cruel Change," Mizue 9, no. 894 (September 1979), ill. p. 38.
UNSIGNED. "Arshile Gorky: The First Abstract Expressionist?," Smithsonian Associate 8, no. 1 (September 1979), ill. p. 1.
RAND, HARRY. Arshile Gorky: The Implications of Symbols (Montclair, New Jersey: Allanheld & Schram, 1980), fig. 2-2, p. 15; pp. 14-19, 44, 53, 69.
WALDMAN, DIANE. Arshile Gorky 1904-1908: A Retrospective (New York: Guggenheim Museum, 1981), fig. 65.
JORDAN, JIM M. and ROBERT GOLDWATER. The Paintings of Arshile Gorky: A Critical Catalogue (New York and London: New York University Press, 1982), no. 108, ill. p. 236; pp. 50-51, 56-57, 237, 345.
LADER, MELVIN P. Arshile Gorky (New York: Abbeville Press, 1985), fig. 23, p. 29.
WALDMAN, DIANE. Willem de Kooning (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1988), fig. 18, p. 30; p. 35.
SCHILDKRAUT, JOSEPH J., ed. Depression and the Spiritual in Modern Art: Homage to Miró (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1996), fig. 19-6, pp. 229-230.
COTTER, HOLLAND. "Suspended Between Modernism and an Armenian Past," New York Times (12 April 2002), p. E35.
See more items in
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection
School
Abstract Expressionism (First Generation)
Credit Line
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Gift of the Joseph H. Hirshhorn Foundation, 1966
Data Source
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Accession Number
66.2150
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on paperboard
Dimensions
8 5/8 × 14 1/4 in. (21.7 × 36.2 cm)