Philip Guston (1913-1980)
Philip Guston (1913-1980)

Painting on Floor

Details
Philip Guston (1913-1980)
Painting on Floor
signed 'Philip Guston' (left edge); signed again, titled and dated 'PHILIP GUSTON "PAINTING ON FLOOR" 1978' (on the reverse)
oil on canvas
60 1/8 x 52¼ in. (152.6 x 132.7 cm.)
Painted in 1978.
Provenance
David McKee Gallery, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Lot Essay

The peripatetic Philip Guston moved from figuration to abstraction throughout his career. The heart of Guston's late figurative work is autobiographical, and scenes of the artist's studio and the tools of his craft populate a fair number of them. In Painting on Floor, a lonely stretcher bar rests on the ground, perhaps a symbol of the periods of time between work, when the artist is searching for inspiration. It is also a symbol of the artist, alone is his studio.

Most importantly, Guston was concerned with the problems of painting and the challenges it presents. It is perhaps not surprising that some of the artist's most impressive passages of abstract painting appear in his later work, somewhat hidden by his realistic subject matter, as is clearly evident in the masterfully realized wall in Painting on Floor.

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