Arshile Gorky

Painter

Birthday April 15, 1904

Birth Sign Aries

Birthplace Turkey

DEATH DATE Jul 21, 1948 (44)

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About

Armenian-American painter who influenced Abstract Expressionism and whose work was informed by the Armenian Genocide.

Before Fame

He fled Armenia with his mother and later enrolled at Boston's New School of Design.

Trivia

His paintings were known for their spontaneity as seen in such works as "The Liver is the Cock's Comb" from 1944, "One Year the Milkweed" from 1944, and "The Betrothal II" from 1947.

Family Life

His birth name was Vosdanig Manoug Adoian. Out of admiration for Maxim Gorky, he adopted the famous author's last name and even told people that he was the more famous Gorky's relative. He married at age thirty-one and had several children.

Associated With

He was a contemporary of Mark Rothko.