Portrait of the Artist's Mother c. 1926 - 1938

Arshile Gorky made this portrait of his mother using pencil on paper. Imagine the tentative touch, the delicate pressure of the pencil as he coaxes her image into being. The lines are so light, so provisional, it’s as if he’s conjuring a memory, trying to capture something that’s already fading. Those eyes, slightly misaligned, gazing in different directions—there’s a whole world of emotion in that subtle gesture. You know, Gorky was deeply influenced by artists like Picasso and Cézanne, trying to find a way to blend abstraction with figuration. And in this drawing, you can see that struggle, that tension between representation and something more elusive. It’s like he’s not just drawing his mother, but also grappling with his own identity as an artist. It’s a testament to the power of drawing as a way of thinking, feeling, and remembering.