Philip Guston

Philip Guston, born Phillip Goldstein, was a Canadian and American painter who evolved from abstract expressionism to a raw, cartoonish figuration, often depicting hooded figures he called self-portraits.

ABOUT

Born Phillip Goldstein in Montreal in 1913 to Ukrainian Jewish immigrant parents, Philip Guston's early life was marked by hardship and a keen awareness of prejudice. His family moved to Los Angeles in 1919, where they witnessed regular Ku Klux Klan activities. Tragically, his father died by suicide when Guston was just 10, a profound event that shaped his artistic perspective. Largely self-taught after brief stints at art schools, Guston's early influences included Italian…

Read Philip's full story in Art Whisper

NOTABLE WORKS

Early Mail Service and Construction of Railroads (mural study, Commerce, Georgia Post Office) 1938 · Smithsonian American Art Museum The Street 1956 · San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Pleasures I 1961 · Art Institute of Chicago Untitled 1963 · Art Institute of Chicago Portrait II 1965 · Art Institute of Chicago Nice 1966 · Art Institute of Chicago

See all of Philip's works in Art Whisper

INFLUENCES

Influenced by

Giorgio de ChiricoMetaphysical Painting David Alfaro SiqueirosMexican Muralism Piero della FrancescaEarly Renaissance Paolo UccelloEarly Renaissance