Everett Ellen is showing a remarkable collection of drawings by the late Arshile Gorky. Spreading from 1929 to 1947, the year before the artist’s tragic suicide, the selection of pen, pencil and crayon works could hardly be improved upon. The patent reference to the work of Picasso, Leger, Matta and the surrealist expatriates are candid and significant in Gorky’s development. At his best, and he reaches this apex many times in the show, Gorky was one of the most powerful and seminal influences on the developing “new American painting.” Held in conjunction with the publication of Harold Rosenberg’s brief new book on Gorky, the exhibition is a special privilege for southern Californians.

—Gerald Nordland