Philip Guston: Roma

Since Philip Guston’s death in 1980, his late figurative paintings and drawings have steadily reaped the acclaim they deserve–acclaim that was largely denied them during Guston’s lifetime (Hilton Kramer infamously reviewed Guston as a “mandarin pretending to be a stumblebum” in a damning 1970 New York Times article). This volume reunites a selection of paintings from the Roma series, completed during Guston’s residency at the American Academy in Rome in 1970-71. From early in his career, Guston had taken inspiration from Italian art, and his 1973 painting “Pantheon” features a list of Italian painters: de Chirico, Masaccio, Piero della Francesca, Giotto and Tiepolo. Italian cinema (especially Fellini) and classical sculpture were also dear to his heart. The Roma works consolidate this dialogue with Italian art and culture. Diary entries published alongside the reproductions recount exchanges at the American Academy, pilgrimages to Venice, Arezzo, Sicily and Orvieto, and observations of the international cultural community in Rome.