By DARLA MCCAMMON
Lakeland Art Association

Last week we discussed the Works Progress Administration and how hundreds of artists were hired to create art work. One of the artists employed by the WPA during The Great Depression was Arshile Gorky.

The Newark, New Jersey airport was the recipient of a large mural titled Aviation that was created by Gorky. Pictured is Gorky himself working on one of the panels of this enormous work. This particular panel was titled “Activities on the Field” and was completed for the Federal Art Project division of the WPA in 1936.

Gorky carefully selected his name, and it was not the name he was given at birth. Vosdanig Manoug Adoian was born in Khorgom, Armenia on April 15, 1904. His birthplace was on the shores of Lake Van in the Ottoman Empire. His early life was tumultuous with his father leaving the family behind when he emigrated to America to avoid the draft. In 1915, their situation grew very grave, so Gorky fled with his three sisters and his mother to escape the ever-widening Armenian genocide.

During these dark days, they fled to Russian controlled territory only to have their mother die of starvation in 1919. Somehow the 16 year old Gorky managed to flee to America where he was reunited with his father, but because of bitterness over his perception of his father’s desertion, they never grew close.

Too many years, struggles and tragedies had ensued. For some reason the inventive young man decided to change his identity. Thus the name Arshile Gorky emerged from his fertile imagination. He claimed to be a Georgian noble, thus the name Arshile. He then embroidered the tale further by claiming to be a relative of the Russian writer Maxim Gorky.

In 1922 Gorky went to Boston where he enrolled in what was called The New School of Design. Gorky was particularly influenced by the work of Paul Cezanne at this time. By the time three years had passed he was asked to teach at the Grand Central School of Art where he remained until 1931. Gorky was quoted during this time as saying, “Dreams form the bristles of the artist’s brush.”

In 1933, Gorky began his career with the Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project. He was one of the first artists chosen and later included other artists such as Alice Neel, Jackson Pollock, Diego Rivera and Mark Rothko.

During his career Gorky was called an impressionist, a post-impressionist, an influence in abstract expressionism and lastly, a surrealist.

An interesting piece called “The Liver is the Cock’s Comb”, received a very high compliment when Andre’ Breton declared in 1940 that the painting was one of the most important paintings made in America. This painting was shown at the Galerie Maeght in Paris in 1947. This monumental work is six feet tall and eight feet wide. It is easy to find a copy of it on the internet. Just type in the title.

Gorky did marry and had two daughters, but his life continued to be full of tragedy. He had to have a colostomy when he was diagnosed with cancer, his wife had an affair and left him, his studio burned to the ground, his neck was broken in another incident and his painting arm was paralyzed in an auto accident.

The final tragedy came when Gorky committed suicide by hanging himself in Connecticut in 1948 at the relatively young age of 44.

Not all the WPA artists had such tragic endings. We will share more about the WPA program and give you additional insight into more of their artists for the next few weeks.

Upcoming and current events:

• Teresa Smith’s great exhibit is now open at the Warsaw City Hall gallery. 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Free admission.
• Contact Paula Bowman at Latte Lounge if you would like to participate in her next “Caffeine and Canvas event. This fun adventure in painting continues to be very popular and successful.
• More info on LAA can be found at www.lakelandartassociation.org or on Facebook. Call (574) 594-9950 or contact Darla at [email protected]