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”Flight From Reality”? A Reconsideration of Gorky’s Politics and Approach to Public Muralism in the 1930s

Patterson’s research for this exhibition led to the discovery of a new corpus of works by Gorky and contributed to a re-evaluation of the artist’s career as presented in both the exhibition and the catalogue. Twelve previously overlooked paintings and drawings were included in the exhibition alongside wall texts and explanatory materials. Throughout the planning and realisation of the exhibition Patterson acted as a consultant on Gorky’s activities during the 1930s and her research served as a framework for rethinking the relations between art and politics throughout his oeuvre. Preparatory drawings, comparative works, and period photographs discussed in Patterson’s essay and illustrated throughout the catalogue were also included in the exhibition. While the exhibition was on view in Philadelphia Patterson was invited to give a talk at the University of Pennsylvania (November 2009) on this material. She also gave a talk on the exhibition at the Terra Foundation for American Art, Paris (February 2010) while the exhibition was on view at Tate Modern.

This catalogue essay was commissioned by Michael Taylor, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art. The catalogue, which was published by Yale University Press, accompanied the Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective exhibition that opened in 2009 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and subsequently travelled to Tate Modern, London, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles in 2010. The catalogue was edited by Michael Taylor and included essays by Harry Cooper, Robert Storr, and Kim Theriault.