Arshile Gorky

New York, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Arshile Gorky, 1904 - 1948: A Retrospective, April - July 1981, cat. no. 53, illustrated (dated circa 1933)
Purchase, The Neuberger Museum, State University of New York College at Purchase, The Private Eye, April - June 1984

This work is in very good condition overall. Please contact the Contemporary Art department at 212-606-7254 for a condition report prepared by Alan Firkser of Paper Conservation Studio. The work is hinged with rice paper at intervals along the top edge to a ragboard matte, and framed in a carved antiqued gold wood framed behind Plexiglas.
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.

This drawing belongs to the first series Gorky would create based on his childhood memories of Armenia.  The title refers to Khorkum (Xhorkom), the small village near Lake Van where Gorky was born.  Unlike the large contemporaneous Nighttime, Enigma and Nostalgia series, the Khorkom group consists of two paintings and at least eight fully rendered drawings in both ink and graphite.  The composition of this drawing relates closely to a painting in the collection of the Albright-Knox Art Museum and a drawing in the University of Michigan Museum of Art.  Stylistically, the biomorphic forms and rhythmic linear elements of Study for Image in Xhorkom reveal Gorky's interest in Surrealist artists such as André Masson and Joan Miró.
Melissa Kerr
Managing Director, The Arshile Gorky Foundation