Arshile Gorky: Beyond The Limit

The astonishing story of a newly discovered painting by Arshile Gorky, uncovered by conservators after lying hidden behind the artist's remarkable work 'The Limit' (1947) for decades.

In 1946, Arshile Gorky (1904–48) spent the summer at Crooked Run Farm in Lincoln, Virginia. In this time he produced almost 300 drawings, including a study for one of his most remarkable paintings, The Limit (1947)—which he described as the outcome of being "so lonely, exasperated, and how to paint such empty space—so empty it's the limit." Also among Gorky’s output that summer was a related series later referred to as the Virginia Summer drawings. During a 2020 treatment on The Limit, conservators discovered another work nested behind it—an expressively painted canvas immediately recognizable by its relationship to the Virginia Summer drawings. Beyond The Limit reveals this newly discovered painting, referred to as Untitled (Virginia Summer). A series of brushstroke details positions readers close to both canvases, along with a plate section that presents both paintings, select drawings and reference works.