Arshile Gorky
Nighttime, Enigma and Nostalgia

Nighttime, Enigma and Nostalgia

© The Arshile Gorky Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Nighttime, Enigma and Nostalgia
Nighttime, Enigma and Nostalgia
ArtistAmerican, born in Khorkom, Van Province, Ottoman Empire (present-day Turkey), c.1904–1948
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Nighttime, Enigma and Nostalgia
Datec. 1933–1934
Made inNew York, New York, United States
MediumOil on canvas mounted onto panel
Dimensions36 × 47 7/8 in. (91.4 × 121.6 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund
Object number2005.1157
Current Location
The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building
Gallery 203
On view

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Department
American Art
Object Type
DescriptionBetween 1930 and 1934, Arshile Gorky created
numerous drawings that he titled Nighttime,
Enigma and Nostalgia
, borrowing motifs from
Giorgio de Chirico, Old Master paintings, and
anatomy studies, which he filtered through a
Surrealist sensibility. As the series progressed,
he developed this painting, which he reworked
extensively until he became satisfied with its
somber evocation of a still-life arrangement.
In 1941, when asked to describe the subject
of this series, Gorky replied, “Wounded birds,
poverty, and one whole week of rain.”
ProvenanceThe artist; Mr. and Mrs. M. Martin Janis, 1934; [Martha Jackson Gallery, c. 1955]; Estate of Arshile Gorky; Private collection; purchased by MFAH, 2005,
Exhibition History"Abstract and Surrealist Art in U.S.," Cincinnati Museum; Denver Art Museum; Seattle Art Museum; Santa Barbara Museum, California, 1944.

"Expressionism in American Painting," Albright Gallery, Buffalo, 1952.

"Gorky: Middle Period," Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, 1954.

"Gorky Paintings and Drawings," Tate Museum, London; Palais des Beax-Arts, Brussels; Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 1965.

"Murals Without Walls: Relating to Gorky's Newark Project," The Newark Museum, New Jersey, November 15, 1978–March 11, 1979.

"Murals Without Walls: Arshille Gorky's Aviation Murals Rediscovered," The American Federation of Arts, New York, July 1979–October 1980.

"Arshille Gorky 1904-1948, A Retrospective," The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, April 24–July 19,1981.

"Arshile Gorky, 1904-1948," Sala de Exposiciones de la Fundación Caja Pensiones, Madrid, October 17–December 23, 1989; The Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, January 19–March 25, 1990.

"Arshille Gorky: Paintings and Drawings 1929-1942," Gagosian Gallery, New York, October 27, 1998–January 9, 1999.

"Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective," Philadelphia Museum of Art, October 20, 2009–January 10, 2010; Tate Modern, London, February 10–May 3, 2010; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, June 6–September 20, 2010.

"American Made: 250 Years of American Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, July 7, 2012–January 2, 2013.

"The Abstract Impulse: Selections from the Modern and Contemporary Collections," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 3–May 5, 2013.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Signed in the image, lower right quadrant in a box: "A. Gorky"
Twelve printed back label from exhibitions - See acc. file for copies and Exhibition History in TMS

980 Madison Avenue / New York NY 10021 / 2132 744 2313 tel / Gagosian Gallery / Arshile Gorky / " Nighttime, Enigma and Nostalgia", c. 1933-34 / Oil on canvas / 36 x 48 inches / Catalogue #25 / " Arshile Gorky: Paintings and Drawings 1929-1942" / October 27, 1998-January 9, 1999

The Arts Council of Great Britain / [illegible] / Exhibition Arshile Gorky 1904-1948 / Cat. no. 25 / Artist Arshile Gorky / Title Nighttime, enigma and nostalgia, / c. 1934 / Owner Martha Jackson Gallery, New York

SIT SIT TRANSPORTES INTERNACIONALES / GRAN VIA[illegible] MADRID / Autor ASHILE GORKY / Titulo "NIGHTTIME ENIGME NOSTALGIA" 1933-34 / Exposion "GORKY" / Prestador COSMOTRANS - Zurich

A & S FINE ARTS, INC / (212) 776-6350 / #2

PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART / Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective / Arshile Gorky / "Nighttime, Enigma, and Nostalgia", 1933-1934 / Oil on canvas, 36 x 48 in. / Lender: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston / Gorky-54

[torn label] 1975/6 / artist Arshile Gorky / title Nighttime Enigma and Nostalgia / owner Etablissement Lesanfond of Vaduz, Liechtenstein

Museum Boymans van Beuningen / Exhibition ARSHILE GORKY 1965 / Collection Martha Jackson Gallery, New York / Artist Arshile Gorky / Nighttime, enigma and nostalgia, 1934

[torn slip of paper with inscriptions in ink: S19 and marker: 2(circled and upside down)]

P. 31 SPECIAL PACKING / NO CORNERS / AFA #3

3 / Gorky title: / NIGHTTIME, ENIGMA AND / NOSTALGIA

exhibition title: exhibition no: / MURALS WITHOUT WALLS / Arshile Gorky's Aviation Murals Rediscovered 78-16 / July 1979 - October 1980 / THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF ARTS. 41 East 65th Street, New York 10021

THE SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM / Loan = 941,80 Catalog = 43 / Exhibition GORKY X / Lender Private Collection


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