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Philip Guston Now

Past Exhibition

March 2 – August 27, 2023
East Building, Concourse

Philip Guston Now charts the 50-year career of one of America’s most influential modern artists through more than 150 paintings and drawings. Guston’s story is one of epic change—of artistic styles, from muralism to abstract expressionism to figuration, of degrees of political and social involvement, and of levels of personal confession in his work. Renowned in his time and in ours, Guston’s work continues to resonate, attract, and provoke, raising crucial questions about the relationship of art to beauty and brutality, freedom and doubt, politics and the imagination.

Explore Selected Works

Female Nude with Easel, 1935

Female Nude with Easel, 1935, oil on canvas, Private Collection. © The Estate of Philip Guston
Martial Memory, 1941

Martial Memory, 1941, oil on canvas, Saint Louis Art Museum, Eliza McMillan Trust. © The Estate of Philip Guston, courtesy Hauser & Wirth
Self-Portrait, 1944

Self-Portrait, 1944, oil on canvas, Private Collection. © The Estate of Philip Guston
Review, 1948–1949

Review, 1948–1949, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Musa Guston, 1992
Passage, 1957–1958

Passage, 1957–1958, oil on canvas, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Bequest of Caroline Wiess Law, 2004.20. © The Estate of Philip Guston
The Return, 1956–1958

The Return, 1956–1958, oil on canvas, Tate: Presented by the Friends of the Tate Gallery, 1959. © The Estate of Philip Guston; digital image © Tate, London/Art Resource, NY
Untitled, 1964

Untitled, 1964, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Musa Guston, 1992
Untitled, 1967

Untitled, 1967, brush and ink, Private Collection.  © The Estate of Philip Guston
Untitled, 1968

Untitled, 1968, charcoal, Private Collection. © The Estate of Philip Guston
Untitled, 1968

Untitled, 1968, acrylic on panel, Private Collection. © The Estate of Philip Guston
Untitled, 1968

Untitled, 1968, oil on panel, Private Collection. © The Estate of Philip Guston
Untitled (Picture), 1968

Untitled (Picture), 1968, oil on panel, Private Collection. © The Estate of Philip Guston
Courtroom, 1970

Courtroom, 1970, oil on canvas, Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection.  © The Estate of Philip Guston
Poor Richard (no. 37), 1971

Poor Richard (no. 37), 1971, ink , The Guston Foundation, Promised gift to the National Gallery of Art, Washington.  © The Estate of Philip Guston
Painter’s Table, 1973

Painter’s Table, 1973, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift (Partial and Promised) of Ambassador and Mrs. Donald Blinken in memory of Maurice H. Blinken and in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, 1991. © The Estate of Philip Guston
Painting, Smoking, Eating, 1973

Painting, Smoking, Eating, 1973, oil on canvas, Collection of the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. © The Estate of Philip Guston
Untitled (Self-Portrait), 1974

Untitled (Self-Portrait), 1974, ink, Private Collection.  © The Estate of Philip Guston
Rug, 1976,

Rug, 1976, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Edward R. Broida, 2005. © The Estate of Philip Guston
The Line, 1978

The Line, 1978, oil on canvas, Private Collection. © The Estate of Philip Guston
The Ladder, 1978

The Ladder, 1978, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Edward R. Broida, 2005. © The Estate of Philip Guston
Black Sea, 1977

Black Sea, 1977, oil on canvas, Tate: Purchased 1982.  © The Estate of Philip Guston
Legend, 1977

Legend, 1977, oil on canvas, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by the Alice Pratt Brown Museum Fund, 88.35. © The Estate of Philip Guston
Talking, 1979

Talking, 1979, oil on canvas, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Gift of Edward R. Broida, 2005. © The Estate of Philip Guston; digital image © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA/Art Resource, NY
Untitled, 1980

Untitled, 1980, acrylic and ink on illustration board, Private Collection.  © The Estate of Philip Guston

Story

Who is Philip Guston? 10 Things to Know

Story

Watch Artists Reflect on the Power of Philip Guston’s Paintings

Video

Philip Guston: The Capacity of Painting

Video

Artists on Guston: Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Walter Price, and Devin Troy Strother

In-Person Events

March 25 – August 18

Philip Guston Now

This conversational exhibition tour explores Philip Guston’s 50-year career and the historical events that influenced his work. 

Philip Guston Now

In this publication, leading art historians follow the unconventional path of Guston’s life and work, while ten of today’s most daring artists describe how Guston remains a provocative inspiration.

Get your copy today

Organization
The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Tate Modern, London; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Other venues
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, May 1–September 11, 2022
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, October 23, 2022–January 15, 2023
Tate Modern, October 5, 2023–February 25, 2024

Sponsors
Major support for the international tour of the exhibition is provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. 

The Director’s Circle of the National Gallery of Art and the Edwin L. Cox Exhibition Fund provided additional funding.

The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Passes
Admission is always free and passes are not required

Banner detail: Philip Guston, Painting, Smoking, Eating, 1973, oil on canvas, Collection of the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. © The Estate of Philip Guston, courtesy Hauser & Wirth.