Arshile Gorky by Phyllis Rosenzweig (review)

Boo if, perhaps, even Chagall himself read the story. This myth of romantic young love is heavily laden with violent murders, invasions and deceit. Moore first published his translation in 1934 which accounts for the formality of the ‘whilst’s’ and ‘thith r s that glamorize and mystify a classic, entangled love One is to believe that this book of reproductions ofChagall’s 1961limited edition of lithographs is an effort to bring his art to the masses. But the language, presentation and price of the ‘masterwork’, as it is described, only alienate it from the kind of public understanding and appreciation that the myth enjoyedfor centuries and from which it stems. Likethe myth, Chagall’sart is firmly rooted in folklore and storytelling. But, instead of accessibility and warmth, I found the overall affect elitist and remote, a mummified version of a once vital story produced by a publisher at great expense. storyS’ o which Shakespeare would have been proud. Arshile Corky. Phyllis Rosenzweig. Exhibition catalog. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, 1979. 47 pp.. illus. Reviewed by Sherly Famess* An exhibition of works by Gorky washeld between 4 Oct. and 24 Nov. 1979in the Hirshhorn Museum, for which this tidy catalog was prepared. It is packed with pertinent information on his life that leads to an understanding of Gorky’s early works and on the influences on the development of his style. One is told for each whole work exhibited the name of its first owner, when and to whom it was resold and the date on which it became the possession of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. Hirshhorn purchased 17 paintings from Gorky himself in 1943, with 16 becoming part of the permanent collection. Eventually 13 more paintings and drawings were added. Since many of these were untitled, they were given descriptive titles or numbered for purposes of identification, keeping in mind that Gorky only numbered many of his works. The early works are arranged thematically rather than chronologically, and this isparticularly important because some of the dates that Gorky gave to hisearly paintings are unreliable. Nevertheless, it remains evident that while heespoused ‘themost advanced concepts of Western Art, he maintained a deep and abiding identity with the traditional culture of his native Armenia’. Gorky’s earliest paintings were technically accomplished but not very different stylistically from Post Impressionism , which was then being taught in the U.S.A. That he studied the work of Cezanne, Picasso and Mir6 and many others is amply revealed by works by other artists reproduced in the catalog so that onecan see,for example,the influenceof Cezanne or Degas in a particular painting. Five of the 13pages of black and white illustrations are devoted to detailing of the derivative aspects of a work. Severalof his works were shown to the public for the first time. Abram Lerner, in his Foreword to the catalog, says: ‘It is essential to grasp the significance of his early works which are marked by a manifest admiration of the great modern innovators whose vision provided him with the guidance and instruction he needed to sustain his own faith.’ But there is another side to Gorky that includes ‘a humbleness similar to that of religious converts whose belief is strengthened by veneration and emulations’. The early works shown in the catalog hint at his later mature style when his gifts as a draughtsman and colorist were at the service of his unique works. The chronology for Gorky’s life gives key dates and events from his birth in Turkish Armenia in 1903(1904?1905?)(he was christened Vosdanig Manoof Adoin) to 1948, when he committed suicide in the U.S.A. in July. following a serious automobile accident the previous month. iks 255 Stanley Spencer at War. Richard Carline. Faber & Faber, London, 1978. 224 pp., illus. €9.50. Reviewed by Vic Gray* If you like biography ingenuously authenticated with’autobiographical detail and embellishment, if you gain inspiration from following the burgeoning talent of a very particular artist and if you welcomean insight intoa facetof Englishpainting just before, during and after World War I, then I recommend to you this book. It was published in 1978in fulfilment of a promise Carline made to Spencer...