Philip Guston belongs to the generation of American postwar artists who were the first to free themselves from the great example of European art. But unlike his Abstract Expressionist colleagues - such as Jackson Pollock or Willem de Kooning - Guston did not remain faithful to just one style, but developed a variety of different forms of expression. In the 1930s he began under the banner of socially committed surrealism, and by the end of the forties he had arrived at abstraction. From that time on, he created the large-format, powerful color paintings that established his international reputation. But in the mid-sixties Guston returned to a kind of symbolic realism with disturbing power, which determines his image in art history today. His late works are dominated by mysterious paintings of great intensity that had a major influence on many younger artists, including in Germany. In this book, well-known experts on Philip Guston's oeuvre focus not only on the early works but also on the late, realistic Guston, clearly revealing his artistic development from the late forties to the end of the seventies. (English/French edition available ISBN 3-7757-1000-0) The artist: Philip Guston (Montreal 1913-1980 Woodstock). 1919 moved to the USA. Studied at Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. 1941-1945 lecturer at the University of Iowa.