Arshile Gorky
1904-1948 · Armenian-American · Abstract Expressionism, Surrealism
Auction record: $23.4M
Charred Beloved I, 1946 · Christie's, New York · Nov 9, 2023
Source: masterworks.com
Biography
Arshile Gorky (about 1904 to 1948) was born Vosdanik Adoian in Ottoman Armenia, survived the genocide and reached the United States in 1920. In New York he absorbed Cezanne, Picasso and Miro, and in the 1940s, encouraged by Andre Breton and the exiled Surrealists, he developed a fluid, biomorphic language of line and thin color that is widely seen as the bridge between Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism. His career was cut short by his death in 1948, so major paintings are scarce and many are held by museums. For the market this scarcity means that mature canvases appear rarely and set the price level, while drawings and works on paper from the 1940s form the more regular trade. His record was set at Christie's New York in November 2023.
Recent auction results
| Untitled (1943)Phillips, New York | $152K | May 14, 2025 | heni.com |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Pastel (1943)Christie's, New York | $2.83M | May 12, 2025 | heni.com |
| Untitled (circa 1943)Christie's, New York | $3.6M | Nov 19, 2024 | theartnewspaper.com |
Market
- Liquidity: Low
Museums
- Museum of Modern Art, New York
- Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
- National Gallery of Art, Washington
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Tate, London
Sources
- Masterworks, Arshile Gorky
- Panorama.am, record Christie's novembre 2023
- The Art Newspaper, Christie's 20th Century Evening novembre 2024
- HENI News, Virginia Pastel
- HENI News, Phillips 14 maggio 2025
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