Books

Average customer rating:

good history
an overall disappointing book

Black Angel: The Life of Arshille Gorky
Nouritza Matossian
Manufacturer: Overlook TP
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Artists, Architects & Photographers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1585672858
Release Date: 2002-08-27

Book Description

In this first full-scale biography of the artist Robert Hughes called "a kind of Bridge of Sighs between Surrealism and America," Nouritza Matossian charts the life of Arshile Gorky, one of the most mysterious of major twentieth-century artists. Born in Armenia, he survived the Turkish genocide begun in 1915 and arrived in America in 1920. One of the first abstract expressionists, he was a major influence on the New York art scene, which included de Kooning, Rothko, Pollock, and others. After a devastating series of illnesses, injuries, and personal setbacks, he committed suicide at the age of 46.

In Black Angel, Nouritza Matossian uses for the first time Gorky's original letters in Armenian and other new source material, writing with authority and insight about the powerful influence Gorky's Armenian heritage had upon his painting. She also provides an informed and important critique of the entire body of Gorky's major work.

Customer Reviews:

good history.......2007-01-11

I loved this book, however I love Arshile Gorky's paintings. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interseted in Gorky or the Armenian genocide. Great history. It is written more like history book than a novel. The most detailed account of Gorky's life that I have ever read. It is not a review of his art.

an overall disappointing book.......2003-05-14

I had very much looked forward to reading Black Angel after seeing the movie Ararat. I have been disappointed by it. Sloppy editing and proof-reading, two elements that should NOT have taken place, and certainly not in the best interest of the author, but I also found the writing to be monochromatic and not anywhere as interesting as I believe it could have been. When the subject is one of such passion and talent and intensity and fascination as Arshile Gorky, I would have hoped for something more polished and compelling.

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