Philip Guston: A New Alphabet, The Late Transition

In 1967, the American artist Philip Guston (1913–80) left Manhattan and settled in rural Woodstock, New York, where he lived for the rest of his life. About the same time, he abandoned the lyrical abstractions for which he was internationally acclaimed and turned to a simple, cartoonlike style of figuration that he maintained until his death. The four-year period—from 1968 to 1972—during which he made his dramatic transition is the focus of this exhibition. The centerpiece is a wall of small panel paintings in which he proposed a new visual “alphabet.”

Organized by Harry Cooper, associate curator of modern art at the Fogg Art Museum, and Joanna Weber, acting curator of European and contemporary art at the Yale Art Gallery, with the help of Laura Greengold, a recent graduate in painting from the Yale School of Art.

A fully illustrated catalogue with essays by Harry Cooper and Joanna Weber accompanies the exhibition.

The presentation at the Fogg Art Museum was made possible by the generous support of the Fifth Floor Foundation, Keith and Kathy Sachs, and the Alexander S., Robert L., and Bruce A. Beal Exhibition Fund.