An established painter of some of the most poetic Abstract Expressionist painting of the late 1950s, Guston gradually abandoned abstraction in the 1960s in favor of seemingly crude, cartoonish, images drawn from memory. In Couple in Bed, Guston lays in bed with his wife, Musa, their faces pressed together as one in the manner of Brancusi’s The Kiss. Here the artist holds his brushes as tightly as he does his wife, who in May of 1977 suffered a series of debilitating strokes.
Date
Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.
Robert Storr, Modern Masters: Philip Guston (Abbeville Press, 1986), 86, fig. 90 (ill.).
Musa Mayer, Night Studio: A Memoir of Philip Guston (New York: Knopf, 1988), 131, 147, no. 53 (color ill.).
Francisco Calvo Serraller, “Abierta en Madrid una retrospectiva de Guston: En Centro Reina Sofia expone 70 obras del artista que paso del expresionismo abstracto a la figuracion” El País, Mar. 2, 1989, https://elpais.com/diario/1989/03/02/cultura/604796404_850215.html
Mark Rosenthal, Philip Guston: retrospectiva de pintura, exh. cat. (Madrid: Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, 1989), 128, cat. 52 (color ill.).
Saint Louis Art Museum, Philip Guston: 50 Years of Painting, exh. pamphlet (St. Louis: Saint Louis Art Museum, 1989), n.p., (color ill.).
Musa Mayer, Night Studio: A Memoir of Philip Guston (New York: Knopf, 1990), 131, 147, no. 53 (color ill.).
Musa Mayer, Night Studio: A Memoir of Philip Guston (New York: Knopf, 1991), 131, 147, no. 53 (color ill.).
Charles F. Stuckey, “Selected Recent Acquisitions of Twentieth-Century Art at The Art Institute of Chicago: Supplement,” The Burlington Magazine 135, no. 1087 (Oct. 1993): 727 (ill.).
William Corbett, Philip Guston’s Late Work: A Memoir (Boston: Zoland Books, 1994), 99.
Peter-Klaus Schuster, Helen Adkins, George Grosz: Berlin, New York, exh. cat. (Berlin: Ars Nicolai and Neue Nationalgalerie, 1994), 37, abb. 36 (ill.).
James N. Wood and Teri J. Edelstein, The Art Institute of Chicago: Twentieth-Century Painting and Sculpture (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1996), 142 (color ill.)
Musa Mayer, Night Studio: A Memoir of Philip Guston (New York: Knopf, 1997), 131, 147, no. 53 (color ill.).
Lea Rosson DeLong, Shifting Visions: O’Keeffe, Guston, Richter, exh. cat. (Des Moines: Des Moines Art Center, 1998), 45.
James N. Wood, Treasures from The Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago; New York: Hudson Hills Press, 2000), 314 (color ill.).
Michael Auping, Philip Guston: Retrospective, exh, cat. (New York: Thames & Hudson; Fort Worth: Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 2003), n.p., cat. 108 (color ill.), 241.
Christopher Knight, “The Paint Is the Thing; Through Abstract and Figurative Styles, Philip Guston Emphasized the Material and Ritual Significance of Art,” Los Angeles Times, Aug. 23, 2003, Home edition, E1 (color ill.), E18.
Michael Kimmelman, “Anxious Liberator of an Era’s Demons,” The New York Times, Oct. 31, 2003, E37, E39 (ill.)
Christopher Benfey, “Philip Guston Retrospective.” The New York Times Book Review, Dec. 7, 2003, Online, https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/07/books/art.html.
Arthur C. Danto, “The Abstract Impressionist.” Nation, Dec. 11, 2003, https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/abstract-impressionist/
Nicole Krauss, “The First Painter after the Last.” Modern Painters 16, no. 4 (Winter 2003), 91 (color ill.).
Raphael Rubinstein, “Philip Guston: Some Thoughts,” Art in America 92, no. 3 (March 2004): 91 (color ill.).
Arthur C. Danto, Unnatural Wonders: Essays from the Gap between Art and Life, First edition (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005), 138.
Christopher Bucklow, What Is in the Dwat?: The Universe of Guston’s Final Decade (Grasmere, England: Wordsworth Trust, 2007), 73, 128, 188, pl. 39 (color ill.).
Douglas Druick, Master Paintings at The Art Institute of Chicago, 3rd ed. (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), 162 (color ill.).
Robert V. Sharp, Elizabeth Stepina, and Susan E. Weidemeyer, ed., The Essential Guide, 3rd ed. (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 2009), 135 (color ill.).
David Kaufmann, Telling Stories: Philip Guston’s Later Works (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010), 49, 69.
Megan Craig, Levinas and James: Towards a Pragmatic Phenomenology (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2010), 174, fig. 4 (ill.), 175.
Ingrid Pfeiffer and Max Hollein, eds., Philip Guston Das Grosse Spätwerk/Late Works, exh. cat. (Cologne: Strzeleckibooks, 2013), 22, fig. 11 (color ill.), 23.
Douglas Druick, Master Paintings at The Art Institute of Chicago, 4th ed. (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013), 163 (color ill.).
David Sylvester, Ein Gespräch mit Philip Guston. NichtSoKleineBibliothek 8 (Bern: Piet Meyer Verlag, 2013), 71, no. 26 (color ill.).
Peter Benson Miller, ed., Go Figure! New Perspectives on Guston (New York: American Academy in Rome; New York Review of Books, 2014), 80.
Robert V. Sharp, Elizabeth Stepina, and Susan E. Weidemeyer, ed., The Essential Guide, 3rd ed. (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 2015), 257 (color ill.).
Musa Mayer, Night Studio: A Memoir of Philip Guston, Reprint, (Zurich: Hauser & Wirth, 2016), 180-181, 183, fig. 72 (color ill.).
Kosme María de Barañano Letamendía, Philip Guston & the Poets, exh. cat. (Venice: Gallerie Dell’Accademia di Venezia, 2017), 101 (color ill.).
Michael Findlay, Seeing Slowly: Looking at Modern Art (Munich; Prestel, 2017), 219 (color ill.).
Robert Storr, Philip Guston: A Life Spent Painting (London: Laurence King Publishing, 2020), 165, 170 (color ill.).
Musa Mayer, Philip Guston (London: Laurence King Publishing, 2020), 101, 102 (color ill.).
Harry Cooper, Mark Godfrey, Alison de Lima Greene, and Kate Nesin, Philip Guston Now, exh. cat. (Washington: National Gallery of Art, 2020), 156, pl. 160 (color ill.).
Estate of Philip Guston, Philip Guston (Lyon: FAGE éditions, 2022), 54, 55 (color ill.).
Peter Saenger, “Icons: Images That Spark Arguments,” The Wall Street Journal, Apr. 23, 2022, C14.
J.S. Marcus, “Controversially postponed Philip Guston show finally gets going. How has it changed?” Art Newspaper, Apr. 26, 2022, Online (color ill.), https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/04/26/controversially-postponed-philip-guston-shows-finally-get-going
Holland Carter, “True to His Ferocious Spirit,” The New York Times, Apr. 29, 2022, C1, C14 (color ill.).
Malcolm Gay, “Are we ready to look at ‘Philip Guston Now’?” Boston Globe, Apr. 30, 2022, Online (color ill.), https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/04/30/arts/are-we-ready-look-philip-guston-now/
Taylor Dafoe, “An Off-Ramp, a Trauma Specialist, and Preparedness Pamphlets: How the MFA Boston Reworked Its Philip Guston Retrospective,” artnet News, May 5, 2022, Online (color ill.), https://news.artnet.com/art-world/philip-guston-retrospective-reworked-2108893
Sebastian Smee, “In long-awaited Philip Guston show, great art comes with a warning.” Washington Post, May 6, 2022, Online (color ill.), https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/05/06/philip-guston-national-gallery-woke-ku-klux-klan-postponed/
A.R. Hoffman, “Guston: A Genius Beyond Controversy,” New York Sun, May 7, 2022, Online (color ill.), https://www.nysun.com/article/guston-a-genius-beyond-controversy
Anonymous, “Mirar a Guston tras el asesinato de Floyd: El Museum of Fine Arts Boston muestra su obra más comprometida,” Masdearte.com, May 10, 2022, Online (color ill.), https://masdearte.com/philip-guston-museum-fine-arts-boston/
Penny Schwartz, “After 2-year delay, Philip Guston art exhibit explores his Jewish identity — under cloud of controversy,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, May 11, 2022, Online (color ill., install), https://www.jta.org/2022/05/11/culture/after-2-year-delay-philip-guston-art-exhibit-explores-his-jewish-identity-under-cloud-of-controversy
Jared Bowen, ‘Philip Guston Now’ portrays art of controversial and confrontational painter. Washington D.C.: PBS News Hour, May 12, 2022. Video, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/philip-guston-now-portrays-art-of-controversial-and-confrontational-painter
Emily Colucci, “‘Philip Guston Now’ is an Unintentionally Perfect Satire of Contemporary Liberal Cultural Politics,” filthy dreams, May 23, 2022, Online (color ill.), https://filthydreams.org/2022/05/23/philip-guston-now-is-an-unintentionally-perfect-satire-of-contemporary-liberal-cultural-politics/
Brittany Bowker, “RM from BTS stops in Boston, tours MFA exhibit ahead of White House visit,” Boston Globe, June 1, 2022, Online (color ill.), https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/06/01/lifestyle/rm-bts-stops-by-bostons-mfa-ahead-white-house-visit/
Laurie Fendrich, “Philip Guston’s existential ferocity.” Two Coats of Paint, June 1, 2022, Online (color ill.), https://twocoatsofpaint.com/2022/06/philip-gustons-existential-ferocity.html
Ariella Budick, “Philip Guston’s fearless work outshines qualms and controversy in Boston,” Financial Times, June 15, 2022, Online (color ill.), https://www.ft.com/content/fe4781a6-537a-4564-afe8-4067418ee483
Judy Bolton-Fasman, “The Art and Social Conscience of Jewish Artist Philip Guston.” JewishBoston, June 28, 2022, Online (color ill.), https://www.jewishboston.com/read/the-art-and-social-conscience-of-jewish-artist-philip-guston/
Susan Saccocia, “Spotlight Review: Philip Guston Now,” Art New England (July/August 2022): 67 (color ill.)
Violet Conroy, “Four Contemporary Artists on the Unsparing Legacy of Philip Guston.” AnOther Magazine, July 8, 2022, Online, https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/14215/philip-guston-timothy-taylor-george-rouy-antonia-showering-louise-bonnet
Murray Whyte, “This summer, cool down with some art and culture,” Boston Globe, July 15, 2022, Online (color ill.), https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/07/15/arts/this-summer-cool-down-with-some-art-culture/
Iker Seisdedos, “Philip Guston: la corrección política puede herir su sensibilidad,” El País, July 15, 2022, Online (color ill.), https://elpais.com/babelia/2022-07-16/la-correccion-politica-puede-herir-su-sensibilidad.html
Cristiana Campanini, “Troubled Philip Guston,” Abitare, Aug. 3, 2022, Online (color ill.), https://www.abitare.it/en/events/2022/08/03/philip-guston-on-display-at-the-museum-of-fine-arts-in-boston/
Elizabeth Michelman, “Philip Guston’s True Colors at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,” Artscope, Aug. 9, 2022, Online (color ill.), https://artscopemagazine.com/2022/08/philip-gustons-true-colors-at-the-museum-of-fine-arts-boston/
John Yau, “Philip Guston’s Haunted Testimonies,” Hyperallergic, Aug. 18, 2022, Online (color ill.), https://hyperallergic.com/754318/philip-guston-haunted-testimonies/
Joshua Lieberman, “Guston is treated with contempt: Philip Guston Now reviewed.” Spectator, Aug. 20, 2022, Online (color ill.), https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/guston-is-treated-with-contempt-philip-guston-now-reviewed/
Jon Garelick, “For Philip Guston, the political was personal,” Boston Globe, Sept. 2, 2022, section Opinion. Online (color ill., install), https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/09/02/opinion/philip-guston-political-was-personal/
Dian Parker, “Philip Guston’s Pinks and Reds,” Art & Object, Sept. 27, 2022, Online (color ill.), https://www.artandobject.com/news/philip-gustons-pinks-and-reds
Anonymous, “MFAH opens new exhibition looking at KKK’s murderous deeds, Philip Guston’s first Houston show,” Houston Chronicle, Oct. 25, 2022, Online, https://www.houstonchronicle.com/lifestyle/article/Artist-Philip-Guston-s-Now-is-his-first-ever-17530506.php
Andy Coughlan, “Take a look at this Houston art exhibit through a Southeast Texan’s eyes,” Beaumont Enterprise, Nov. 21, 2022, Online (color ill.), https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/entertainment/article/Take-a-look-at-this-Houston-art-exhibit-through-a-17595276.php
Andy Coughlan, “Then and Now: Guston retrospective shows artist exploring human condition,” English With A Bit of Texas. Blog, Nov. 22, 2022, Online (color ill.), https://andycoughlanart.wordpress.com/2022/11/22/then-and-now/
Rosa Boshier González,”Philip Guston Now,” Brooklyn Rail, December 2022-January 2023. Online, https://brooklynrail.org/2022/12/artseen/Philip-Guston-Philip-Guston-Now/
Garland Fielder, “Review: ‘Philip Guston Now’ at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.” Glasstire, Dec. 6, 2022, Online (color ill., install), https://glasstire.com/2022/12/06/review-philip-guston-now-at-the-museum-of-fine-arts-houston/
Etienne Dumont, “Le peintre Philip Guston revient en grâce aux USA,” Bilan, Feb. 18, 2023, Online (color ill.), https://www.bilan.ch/story/le-peintre-philip-guston-revient-en-grace-aux-usa-342093460471
Phong Bui, “Philip Guston Now—A Personal Meditation,” Brooklyn Rail, May 2023, Online, https://brooklynrail.org/2023/05/artseen/Philip-Guston-NowA-Personal-Meditation/
Joe Bradley, “Reflections on Philip Guston Now.,” Brooklyn Rail, June 2023, Online, https://brooklynrail.org/2023/06/art/Reflections-on-Philip-Guston-Now/
Jonathan Jones, Adrian Searle, and Oliver Wainwright, “Sarah Lucas, Philip Guston and women revolt: the best art and architecture of autumn 2023” Guardian, Aug, 21, 2023, Online (color ill.), https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/aug/21/best-art-and-architecture-of-autumn-2023-sarah-lucas-philip-guston-women-in-revolt
Musa Mayer and Michael Wellen, “Transformations on a Canvas,” Tate Etc. 59 (Autumn 2023): 80, 81 (color ill.), https://www.tate.org.uk/tate-etc/issue-59-autumn-2023/transformations-on-a-canvas-philip-guston-musa-mayer
Laura Freeman, “Philip Guston review — beyond the controversy, marvel at the craft,” Times, Oct. 3, 2023, Online (color ill.), https://www.thetimes.com/article/philip-guston-review-beyond-the-controversy-marvel-at-the-craft-8ssgb6s6x
Adrian Searle, “‘What would it be like to be evil?’ Controversial Philip Guston show ridicules the virus-like KKK,” Guardian, Oct. 3, 2023, Online (color ill.), https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/oct/03/evil-controversial-philip-guston-ridicules-kkk-tate
Gareth Harris, “Postponed Philip Guston survey finally opens at Tate Modern,” The Art Newspaper, Oct. 3, 2023 (color ill.), https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/10/03/postponed-philip-guston-survey-finally-opens-at-tate-modern
Ernest Chlopicki, “Review: Philip Guston at Tate Modern ★★★★☆,” Strand, Oct. 6, 2023. Online (color ill.), https://www.strandmagazine.co.uk/single-post/review-philip-guston-at-tate-modern
Laura Freeman, “Guston laid bare at last.” Times, Oct. 6, 2023, section 2 Arts, 9.
Sue Hubbard, “Philip Guston Tate Modern Worth The Wait,” Artlyst, Oct. 6, 2023, Online, https://artlyst.com/reviews/philip-guston-tate-modern-worth-the-wait-sue-hubbard/
Michael Prodger, “Philip Guston’s American monsters,” New Statesman, Oct. 8, 2023, Online, https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2023/10/philip-guston-review-american-monsters
Laura Cumming, “Philip Guston; Sarah Lucas: Happy Gas review – tragi-comic cartoonery,” Guardian, Oct. 8, 2023. Online, as Couple, https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/oct/08/philip-guston-sarah-lucas-happy-gas-review-tragi-comic-cartoonery
Mark Westall, “Philip Guston’s first major UK retrospective in 20 years opens at Tate Modern,” FAD Magazine, Oct. 9, 2023, Online, (color ill.), https://fadmagazine.com/2023/10/09/philip-gustons-first-major-uk-retrospective-in-20-years-opens-at-tate-modern/
Clare Carolin, “Philip Guston: controversial delayed Tate show asks ‘what would it be like to be evil?’” The Conversation, Oct. 10, 2023, Online (color ill.), https://theconversation.com/philip-guston-controversial-delayed-tate-show-asks-what-would-it-be-like-to-be-evil-215206
Irene Wise, “Philip Guston at the Tate Modern,” Jewish Renaissance, Oct. 17, 2023, Online (color ill.), https://www.jewishrenaissance.org.uk/blog/philip-guston-at-the-tate-modern
Joe Lloyd, “Philip Guston: This straight-laced, work-focused retrospective affirms Philip Guston’s place as one of the 20th century’s finest painters,” Studio International, Oct. 19, 2023, Online (color ill.), https://www.studiointernational.com/index.php/philip-guston-review-tate-modern
Alexander Cohen, “The Jewish artist who perfectly captured the turbulent world he was witnessing,” Jewish Chronicle, Oct. 19, 2023, Online (color ill.), https://www.thejc.com/life/the-jewish-artist-who-perfectly-captured-the-turbulent-world-he-was-witnessing-vkxqd5k4
Hettie Judah, “Philip Guston, Tate Modern, review: Outstanding paintings of crisis, violence and injustice,” The i Paper, Oct. 21, 2023, Online (color ill.), https://inews.co.uk/culture/arts/philip-guston-tate-modern-review-outstanding-paintings-of-crisis-violence-and-injustice-2698843?srsltid=AfmBOopkpkKLOg69veAowpm-UlaDbqXAxjCPLV6lzi9BxWFlkM89ZLrt
Hettie Judah, “In Perspective: ‘While I have thought a lot about Guston, I had seen little of his work.” Apollo (November 2023): 34, fig. 2 (color ill.).
Claudia Pritchard, “Philip Guston and the art of fear and loathing,” The New European, November 1, 2023, Online (color ill.), https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/philip-guston-and-the-art-of-fear-and-loathing/
Ben Luke, “Philip Guston at Tate Modern review: riven with anger, engorged with love, haunted by suffering,” Evening Standard, Oct. 3, 2023, Online (color ill.), https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/exhibitions/philip-guston-tate-modern-review-george-floyd-b1110810.html
Howard Jacobson, “Philip Guston’s fight against evil.” UnHerd, Dec. 5, 2023. Online (color ill.), https://unherd.com/2023/12/philip-gustons-war-against-evil/
Matthew Holman, “Guston: antirazzista e contro la guerra, condanna i criminali umanizzandoli.” Il Giornale Dell’Arte, Dec. 22, 2023, Online (color ill.), https://www.ilgiornaledellarte.com/Articolo/Guston-antirazzista-e-contro-la-guerra-condanna-i-criminali-umanizzandoli
Musa Mayer, Night Studio: A Memoir of Philip Guston, Reprint, (Zurich: Hauser & Wirth, 2023), 180-181, 183, fig. 72 (color ill.).
Jo Lawson-Tancred, “A Long-Delayed Retrospective of Philip Guston’s Acerbic Paintings Finally Opens in London,” artnet News, Jan. 2, 2024, Online, https://news.artnet.com/art-world/philip-guston-exhibition-2403268
Valérie Duponchelle, “Philip Guston, le peintre qui met du mouvement dans l’abstraction,” Le Figaro, Jan. 18, 2024, Online, https://www.lefigaro.fr/arts-expositions/philip-guston-le-peintre-qui-met-du-mouvement-dans-l-abstraction-20240117
Dave Kellaway, “Philip Guston (1913-1980) Bearing Witness to Brutality and Injustice.” Anti-Capitalist Resistance, Feb. 3, 2024, Online (color ill.), https://anticapitalistresistance.org/philip-guston-1913-1980-bearing-witness-to-brutality-and-injustice/
Madrid, Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Philip Guston: Retrospectiva de Pintura, Mar. 1–May 8, 1989, cat. 52; Barcelona, Palau de la Virreina, May 25–July 16 1989; St. Louis Art Museum, as Philip Guston: 50 Years of Painting, Sept. 9–Oct. 22, 1989; Dallas Museum of Art, Nov. 19, 1989–Jan. 14, 1990.
Fort Worth, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Philip Guston Retrospective, Mar. 30– June 8, 2003, cat. 108; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, June 28–Sept. 28, 2003; New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Oct. 27, 2003–Jan, 4, 2004; London, Royal Academy of Arts, Jan. 21–Apr. 12, 2004.
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Philip Guston Now, July 17, 2021-Oct. 17, 2021 (delayed to May 1, 2022-Sept. 11, 2022), cat. 160; Houston, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Oct. 18, 2020-Jan. 18, 2021 (delayed to Oct. 23, 2022-Jan. 16, 2023); Washington D.C., National Gallery of Art, June 7, 2020-Sept. 13, 2020 (delayed to Mar. 2, 2023-Aug. 27, 2023); London, Tate Modern, Feb. 16, 2021-June 13, 2021 (delayed to Oct. 3, 2023-Feb. 25, 2024). (Original 2020 dates delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Estate of the artist; sold through David McKee Gallery, New York, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Sept. 11, 1989.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
