Painter
Philip Guston
American, born Canada, 1913–1980

Details
Title
Painter
Artist/Maker
Philip Guston (American, born Canada, 1913–1980)
Date
1959
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
65 x 69 inches
Credit
Purchase with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts
Accession #
74.118
On View
Currently not on view
An Abstract Expressionist during the 1950s and 1960s, Philip Guston considered his paintings to be records of spontaneous gesture. In The Painter a dark, imposing form seems to imply both an easel and a figure in motion; the title suggests that this animated form represents the artist himself, involved in passionate, improvisational painting. The figure exemplifies the words of Harold Rosenberg, a critic contemporary with the Abstract Expressionists: “A painting that is an act is inseparable from the biography of the artist. . . . The new painting has broken down every distinction between art and life.”
Image Copyright
© The Estate of Philip Guston; Courtesy McKee Gallery, New York
More from this Artist
Browse Related Artwork

George McNeil

Jonathan Callan

Jonathan Callan

Will Henry Stevens

El Anatsui

Jonathan Callan

Will Henry Stevens

Deanna Sirlin

Gretchen Hupfel

Jonathan Callan

Will Henry Stevens

Deanna Sirlin