The City of Watertown will hold several events to celebrate Armenian artist Arshile Gorky, who spent time living in Watertown after emigrating from Europe. See the announcement provided by the 100 Years of Arshile Gorky Committee, below.
In 2025, the City of Watertown, MA, is celebrating the life and work of artist Arshile Gorky (born Vosdanig Adoian; c. 1904-1948). Arshile Gorky is a seminal figure in the history of art in the United States. After surviving the 1915 Armenian genocide and its aftermath, Gorky arrived in Watertown in March 1920, as part of a third wave of Armenian immigrants arriving in the United States to escape persecution in the Ottoman Empire. He lived in Watertown with his sisters until late 1924/early 1925, when he relocated to New York City. Gorky’s impact on art history and his continued influence on contemporary art cannot be overstated. One hundred years later, we celebrate Gorky’s legacy as an artist, an immigrant, and a luminary of Watertown.
The working group organizing 100 Years of Arshile Gorky is led jointly by resident Jack Dargon and Public Arts and Culture Planner, Liz Helfer, in collaboration with the Armenian Museum of America, Mosesian Center for the Arts, and the Historical Society of Watertown. The project is supported by Mount Auburn Cemetery, the Arshile Gorky Foundation, the Watertown Cultural Council, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation, the Watertown Community Foundation, Plumbers’ Supply Company, Watertown Cable Access, the Mosesian Center for the Arts, and Watertown’s Public Arts & Culture Committee
The story of artist Arshile Gorky is one of determination. Arshile Gorky arrived in Watertown in 1920, in the aftermath of surviving the 1915 Armenian Genocide, during which he witnessed his mother’s death by starvation. Gorky lived and painted in Watertown between 1920 and 1925, and returned regularly throughout his life.
In Watertown, Gorky was pressured within the community to put aside his artistic ambitions and take up manual labor like most of his contemporaries. He found a job at Hood Rubber Company in Watertown but was fired two months later. Instead, Gorky established relationships within the small, local Armenian diasporic artistic community and began taking art classes in Boston, where he quickly advanced to teaching.
Arshile Gorky is a luminary of 20th-century art in the United States, and forefather of the movement known as Abstract Expressionism. He is synonymous with the first generation of the “New York School,” and inseparable from the historic gravitational shift of the world of art from Paris to New York in the 1950’s.
Commemorative events include:
- City Council Resolution: Commemorating a Day
Watertown City Council proclaimed March 1, 2025, in honor of Arshile Gorky, read the full proclamation here. Thank you to Councillor Gardner for drafting the proclamation. - City Council Resolution: Naming a Square
The City Council voted to name the square at the intersection of Dexter Avenue and Hazel Street in honor of Arshile Gorky, at the end of the block where he used to live. Signage forthcoming. - Capsule Collection at Watertown Free Public Library
In March 2025, enjoy a capsule collection of books and resources about Arshile Gorky, the Abstract Expressionist art movement, and Armenia. - Exhibition: Gorky and the Language of Drawing at Mosesian Center for the Arts
Co-curated with Bill Flynn. The exhibit will be on view March 7 to April 25, 2025. Learn more through the Mosesian Center for the Arts website. Opening reception on March 13 from 5:30-7pm. - Screening of “Without Gorky” at Mosesian Center for the Arts
On March 28, 2025, at 7:30pm enjoy a showing of Without Gorky by the artist’s granddaughter Cosima Spender, followed by a Q&A with art historian Bruce Weber, artist Bill Flynn, and Parker Field, director of the Arshile Gorky Foundation. - Mural on the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway
The Watertown Public Arts and Culture Committee is collaborating with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to commission a mural by Brandon Gaia Marshall at the Grove Street underpass on the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway that commemorates the life and work of Arshile Gorky. Read the full call (PDF). The mural will be installed April 15-June 15. Learn more about Brandon Gaia Marshall and his mural design. Opening reception scheduled for June 10 from 5:30-7:00pm. - Watertown Walks: Gorky and Mental Health with Live Well Watertown
Part of the Watertown Walks series. Explore the sites where Gorky used to live and work on June 12 from 1-2pm. Meet at the intersection of Arlington St and Nichols Ave. - Exhibition curated by Kim Theriault at Armenian Museum of America
Coming in Fall 2025.
Many thanks to the organizing committee: Jack Dargon, Chair; Liz Helfer, Public Arts & Culture Planner for the City of Watertown; Boriana Kantcheva, Artistic Director at the Mosesian Center for the Arts; Jason Sohigian, Director of the Armenian Museum of America; and Joyce Kelly, of the Historical Society of Watertown.
Contact 100 Years of Arshile Gorky: