Philip Guston Now October 23, 2022–January 16, 2023
Philip Guston, The Ladder, 1978, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, gift of Edward R. Broida. © Estate of Philip Guston, courtesy Hauser & Wirth
Philip Guston, Summer, 1954, oil on canvas, Collection of Marguerite and Robert Hoffman. © Estate of Philip Guston, courtesy Hauser & Wirth
Philip Guston, Gladiators, 1940, oil and pencil on canvas, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, gift of Edward R. Broida. © Estate of Philip Guston, courtesy Hauser & Wirth / photograph © The Museum of Modern Art, licensed by SCALA/Art Resource, NY
Philip Guston, 1970
Photograph by Frank K. Lloyd, courtesy of the Guston Foundation
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Philip Guston never stopped questioning the place of the artist in society. His paintings resonate with a profound humanism, defined equally by themes that touch on what he called the "brutality of the world" and the profound commitment he made to the joy of painting.
Over his 50-year career, Guston (1913–1980) shifted from figuration to abstraction and back again. Philip Guston Now, the first retrospective of the influential artist's work in nearly two decades, features paintings, prints, and drawings—both well-known and rarely seen—from public and private collections.
Among 20th-century artists, Guston is especially relevant to a younger generation. Philip Guston Now shows his willingness to engage explicitly with social injustice and to excavate the anxieties of personal conviction from his earliest works through to his last.
Exhibition highlights include foundational paintings from the 1930s that have never been on public view; a cycle of major abstract paintings of the 1950s; a multi-part array of small panel paintings from the late 1960s as Guston developed a new vocabulary grounded in ordinary objects; a reunion of the controversial paintings from Guston's groundbreaking 1970 show at Marlborough Gallery in New York; and a powerful selection of large, often apocalyptic paintings of the late 1970s that form Guston's final artistic statement.
► Audio Guide
The exhibition audio guide delves into selected works of art with commentary from artists, curators, historians, and other experts. Available free of charge, online and in the galleries. Disponible en español. To listen in the galleries, please bring your mobile device and headphones.
Best experienced on mobile devices with the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari.
► Publication
The illustrated exhibition catalogue is available through the MFA Shop (713.639.7360) and the Museum's Hirsch Library (713.639.7325).
Visiting with a group of 10 or more? For information, see Group Visits and Tours. Group reservations not available for opening and closing weeks.
► "Introducing Philip Guston"
► "Talking about Philip Guston Now"
Philip Guston Now / October 23, 2022–January 16, 2023
This exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Tate Modern, London; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Major support for the international tour of the exhibition (and the catalogue) is provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
In Houston, major support is provided by
Bobbie Nau.
Additional generous support is provided by
Musa and Thomas Mayer
Bettie Cartwright
Cecily E. Horton
Beth Robertson
Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff
Jay Jones and Terry Wayne Jones
Audrey Jones Beck Building