In the fall of 1924, a young Armenian painter and refugee named Vosdanig Manuk Adoian moved to New York City and gave himself a new name: Arshile Gorky. With that gesture, the artist (c. 1904-1948) embarked upon a journey of self-reinvention and aesthetic innovation that would parallel New York’s own transformation from an emerging city into a surging metropolis and a cultural epicenter. In a year that saw Manhattan host the premiere of George Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue,’ the public opening of the Morgan Library, the completion of the gilded skyscraper known as the American Radiator Building and, in many respects, the birth of the Harlem Renaissance, Gorky took up residence and began forging a path toward becoming one of the most significant artists of the American avant-garde.

From September 4 through October 26, 2024, Hauser & Wirth will celebrate the centenary of Gorky’s arrival in New York City with a special presentation in its space at 134 Wooster Street, mere blocks from the artist’s original West Village address at 47A Washington Square South. The exhibition will present paintings and works on paper, many of which were originally exhibited in 1935 but have not been seen in over 40 years, that spotlight the master’s development of an artistic language that ultimately would be as singular—and consequential—as the American city that was his home. To view a comprehensive record of the exhibition, including a list of the seventeen displayed works, consult the show’s record in the Arshile Gorky Catalogue Raisonné.

The centenary of Gorky’s move to New York City will also be marked by focused presentations at museums in New York and beyond, including at the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.