A biography of the Armenian painter that "adds immeasurable to the interest of [his] art . . . Carefully researched, well written, [and] enlightening" (The New York Review of Books). In this first full-scale biography, Nouritza Matossian charts the mysterious and tragic life of Arshile Gorky, one of the most influential painters of the twentieth century. Born Manoug Adoian in Armenia, he survived the Turkish genocide of 1915 before coming to America, where he posed as a cousin of the famous Russian author Maxim Gorky. One of the first abstract expressionists, Gorky became a major figure of the New York School, which included de Kooning, Rothko, Pollock, and others. But after a devastating series of illnesses, injuries, and personal setbacks, he committed suicide at the age of forty-six. In Black Angel, arts journalist Matossian analyzes Gorky's personal letters, as well as other new source material. She writes with authority, insight, and compassion about the powerful influence Gorky's life and Armenian heritage had upon his painting.