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Ancient Painter

Date
1973
Material
Oil on canvas
Classification
Paintings
Current Location
Not on view
Dimensions
66 1/4 x 67 3/4 in. (168.3 x 172.1 cm)
Credit Line
Bequest of Musa Guston
Rights
© [year of publication] Estate of Philip Guston
Object Number
217:1992
NOTES
Captured in the process of creation, an extended hand clasps a brush between its fingers and paints the emerging form at the far right of the canvas. However, the wordless red quotation blocks, reminiscent of comic strips, tell us little about the act of painting. In the 1970s, the artist Philip Guston immersed himself in a fully developed, cartoonlike style. Ancient Painter allowed Guston to return to his recurring theme of the artist’s hand, a monumental symbol of his craft.
1973 - 1992
Philip Guston (1913-1980) and Musa Guston (c.1992)

1992 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Musa Guston [1]


Notes
[1] Probate Proceeding, Will of Musa Guston, dated May 8, 1992 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, October 21, 1992.

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