Artwork
Self-Portrait
Self-Portrait is an unspecified painting by the American Impressionist artist Arshile Gorky. It dates from 1927 and is held in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1927, this self-portrait by Arshile Gorky presents the artist himself in a half‑length view. The work now belongs to the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, where it is displayed among other early twentieth‑century modernist pieces.
Subject & Meaning
The figure is Gorky, rendered with dark, wavy hair and a modest moustache, dressed in a dark overcoat over a lighter shirt. His head is turned slightly away from the viewer, suggesting a contemplative distance that hints at the artist’s introspective concerns during his early years in America.
Technique & Style
Loose, expressive brushwork dominates the surface, allowing strokes to remain visible and colors to merge in an uneven fashion. A muted palette of greens, blues and browns intermixes with the underlying tones, while the background dissolves into a vague, smudged wash that emphasizes the immediacy of the painter’s hand.
History & Provenance
The painting was produced shortly after Gorky’s arrival in the United States, marking a transitional moment in his development toward abstraction. It entered the Art Institute of Chicago’s holdings through a mid‑20th‑century acquisition, where it has remained a reference point for scholars tracing the evolution of his early figurative work.
Artist & collection
Artist
Arshile Gorky was an Armenian-American painter who had a seminal influence on Abstract Expressionism.
