Hermione Eyre

The truth about my father, Philip Guston

The cancelled artist’s daughter tells Hermione Eyre that his paintings can engender the dialogue we need to have about race

‘Monument’, 1976, by Philip Guston. Credit: ©The Estate of Philip Guston 
issue 13 March 2021

Philip Guston’s later work is — and I say this with love — nails-down-a-blackboard weird. The vapid pinks and flat reds lend a nightmare cheerfulness. The menacing American figure wearing Mickey Mouse gloves is rendered in cartoonish style. The clock shows it is time to panic, challenging you to call out the hood for the Ku Klux Klan symbol it appears to be.

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