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Arshile Gorky

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Artist

The Resume

    (circa April 15, 1904-July 21, 1948)
    Born in Khorkom, Turkey
    Birth name was Vostanik Manoog Adoyan
    Early Abstract Impressionist
    Paintings include 'Landscape, Staten Island,' 'Portrait of Master Bill,' 'Nighttime, Enigma, Nostalgia,' 'The Betrothal II,' 'One Year the Milkweed,' 'The Artist and His Mother' and 'How My Mother's Apron Unfolds in My Life'
    Committed suicide by hanging himself in his studio

Why he might be annoying:

    He repeatedly changed the year - and occasionally the date - of his birth.
    He falsely claimed to be related to author Maxim Gorky.
    He said political art was 'poor art for poor people.'
    Despite that attitude, he painted for the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project.
    Many of his biographies relied heavily on letters to his sisters that turned out to be fakes created by his nephew.

Why he might not be annoying:

    When he was fifteen, his mother starved to death while they were fleeing the Armenian genocide.
    During the two years before his death, his studio burned down, destroying many of his paintings; he was diagnosed with colon cancer; he discovered his wife was having an affair with his friend; his wife left him, taking their children; his neck was broken and his painting arm temporarily paralyzed in a car crash.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 77.78% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 7 Votes: 28.57% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 78 Votes: 52.56% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 17 Votes: 47.06% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 21 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 26 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 19 Votes: 42.11% Annoying