Arshile Gorky

E. Weyhe, New York (acquired directly from the artist circa 1946)
Thence by descent to the present owner

This work is in good condition. The sheet has lavender paper along the left edge, consistent with remnants from a drawing notebook, and has faintly yellowed with age. There are two old edge tear repairs at the lower center and to the right at the lower edge. The sheet was recently addressed by Martina Yamin Conservation of Works on Paper in order to repair minute tears and nicks to the extreme edges of the sheet, stengthening of the corner edges and and overall dry cleaning was executed. As such, the work is in fine overall condition, is hinged to an acid free matte with archival materials and framed in a robust brown wood frame.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Untitled, circa 1946, once belonged to Erhard Weyhe, the owner of the venerable Weyhe Book Store and Gallery at 794 Lexington Avenue. Erhard emigrated from England on the eve of World War I and soon opened the doors to his shop that specialized in the sale of art books.  His shop soon became the center of modernist artistic activity, and as such, it became a favorite haunt for Gorky, whose beautiful collection of art books was quite impressive. Described as a "fervent scrutinizer" of art books, Mr. Weyhe recalled the following, "Gorky would always come in the morning and sit in a certain chair. He never had any money but he was very welcome here and felt at home...O he loved to see every new book. He'd sit here and use it as a library." (In Hayden Herrera, Arshile Gorky: His Life and Work, New York, 2003, p. 212). Mr. Weyhe was well known for allowing many artists to take books away on credit, and similarly, when Gorky wanted a book he could not afford, Wehye would allow him to buy the book on exchange. It is this practice which is presumably the reason for the dedication and the inscribed date of 1934, likely the date upon which Gorky assumed a debt to Weyhe. As Gorky was rarely, if ever, in a financial position to pay for the debt prior to 1944, it is most likely that when the time came to settle the debt, Weyhe preferred a work of art.

 

The present drawing, which bears extraordinary iconographic likeness to the imagery in Diary of a Seducer, 1945, in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, is rendered with a disciplined engagement to the aesthetic theories of the Surrealist movement – a movement highly influential to Gorky and other New York school artists in the 1940s. Gorky wholeheartedly adopted the "automatic écriture" which accounts for his sinuous lines that meander across the controlled biomorphic forms, with a controlled yet explorative force.  A powerful and confident drawing, Untitled, was executed at the pinnacle of a life and career marred by tragedy, within the years of the first critically well-received exhibition of Gorky's work at the Julien Levy Gallery on April 9, 1946. It is likely, that upon hearing the praise, Mr. Wehye astutely visited Gorky in order to secure drawings for his collection, and the inclusion in this sale represents the first time this masterful work is unveiled in the public domain.

 

We are grateful to Mrs. Magouch Gorky Fielding for her generous assistance in the research and cataloguing of this lot.