A survivor of the 1915 Genocide, Arshile Gorky (born Vosdanig Manug Adoyan in Van, Turkey, circa 1904) immigrated to the US at an early age and went on to become one of the greatest painters of the 20th century.

Gorky had a seminal influence on abstract expressionism. By the early 1940s, he began to synthesize surrealism and the sensuous colors and painterliness of the Paris School with his own, deeply personal, formal vocabulary. His works from this period established his signature style and would mark the advent of abstract expressionism.

Gorky’s paintings and drawings are showcased in several major American museums including the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan, and the Whitney Museum of American Art (which maintains the Gorky Archive). The artist’s works are also housed in museums across the world, including the Tate, in London.

Gorky died in 1948.