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Couple in Bed

Two figures, one red, one yellow, lying under white sheets with limbs sticking out.
© The Estate of Philip Guston

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  • Two figures, one red, one yellow, lying under white sheets with limbs sticking out.

Date:

1977

Artist:

Philip Guston
American, born Canada, 1913–1980

About this artwork

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.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Contemporary Art

Artist

Philip Guston

Title

Couple in Bed

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

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.

1977

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

206.2 × 240.3 cm (81 1/8 × 94 5/8 in.)

Credit Line

Through prior bequest of Frances W. Pick, and memorial gift from her daughter, Mary P. Hines

Reference Number

1989.435

Copyright

© The Estate of Philip Guston

Extended information about this artwork

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.

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