Born in Montreal in 1913 as Phillip Goldstein, Philip Guston built a prolific career that spanned decades and crossed stylistic boundaries from social-realist murals to abstract expressionism and, finally, to the stark figurative work that defined his later years. He established his reputation across diverse American landscapes including New York City, Los Angeles, and Woodstock.
Early Development and Education
Guston relocated to Los Angeles in 1919 and attended Manual Arts High School, where he formed a formative friendship with Jackson Pollock. Under the mentorship of Frederick John de St. Vrain Schwankovsky, Guston explored mystic literature and European modernism. His formal training included a brief scholarship at the Otis College of Art and Design, though he largely defined himself as a self-taught practitioner.
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In 1932, Guston collaborated with Reuben Kadish on a mural for the John Reed Club in Los Angeles to support the Scottsboro Boys. The work was damaged by local police. Later, in 1934, Guston and Kadish traveled to Mexico to paint The Struggle Against Terror, a massive anti-fascist mural. During the 1930s and 1940s, he produced murals for the Works Progress Administration, including works in Commerce, Georgia, and at the Social Security Building in Washington, D.C.
Transition to Abstraction and Neo-Expressionism
Moving to New York City in 1935, Guston became a founding figure of the New York School. During the 1950s, he gained prominence as an abstract expressionist, creating works characterized by gestural marks and color masses. By the 1960s, he renounced this style, pivoting toward a dark, figurative neo-expressionism. His later work featured satirical depictions of Richard Nixon and recurring images of hooded figures, which he described as self-portraits exploring the nature of evil.
Career Legacy and Recognition
Throughout his career, Guston held teaching positions at the University of Iowa, Washington University in St. Louis, and worked in Sarasota. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Rome Prize in 1971. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Guston died in 1980 in Woodstock and is interred at the Woodstock Artists Cemetery.
Fast facts
- Born: 1913, Montreal
- Died: 1980, Woodstock
- Notable work: Late Afternoon
- Education: Manual Arts High School, Otis College of Art and Design
- Awards: Rome Prize (1971), Guggenheim Fellowship
- Movement: Abstract expressionism, Neo-expressionism
- Buried at: Woodstock Artists Cemetery
Questions readers ask
What subjects did Philip Guston explore in his later paintings?
His later work often depicted American identity, racism, antisemitism, fascism, and the banality of evil through cartoonish figures and hooded imagery.
What was the significance of the 2020 exhibition postponement?
Museums including the National Gallery of Art and Tate Modern postponed his retrospective to 2022 to better interpret his work on social and racial justice.
Achievements
- Rome Prize — 1971
- Notable work: Late Afternoon
- Movement: abstract expressionism and neo-expressionism
