The Ladder

1978

Philip Guston

Painter, American, born Canada, 1913 - 1980

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Edward R. Broida

  • Dimensions

    overall: 181.61 × 278.13 × 5.08 cm (71 1/2 × 109 1/2 × 2 in.)

  • Accession

    2005.142.17

  • Copyright

    © The Estate of Philip Guston

More About this Artwork

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Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(David McKee Gallery, New York); purchased January 1980 by Edward R. Broida [1933-2006], Los Angeles; gift (partial and promised) 2005 to NGA; gift completed 2006.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1980

  • Philip Guston, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Denver Art Museum; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 1980-1981, no. 92, pl. 81.

1982

  • Philip Guston: Paintings 1969-1980, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Kunsthalle, Basel, 1982-1983, no. 30, repro., as The Ladder.

1984

  • Philip Guston: The Late Works, National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne; The Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1984, no. 29, repro.

1989

  • Philip Guston Retrospective, Reina Sofia Museum of Modern Art, Madrid; Palau de la Virreina, Barcelona, 1989, no. 60, repro. (followed by U.S. tour through January 1990, organized by the St. Louis Art Museum).

1997

  • Founders and Heirs of the New York School, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; The Miyagi Museum of Art; Museum of Modern Art, Ibaraki, 1997, no. 58, repro.

2006

  • Selections from the Collection of Edward R. Broida, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2006, unnumbered brochure, fig. e.

2009

  • In the Tower: Philip Guston, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2009-2010, no catalogue.

Bibliography

2022

  • Cooper, Harry. "Exhibitions." Art for the Nation no. 66 (Fall 2022): 46-47, repro.

Inscriptions

upper left reverse, the title, dimensions, and "S.F. MUSEUM" underlined: PHILIP GUSTON / "THE LADDER" 1978 / OIL ON CANVAS / 70X108 / S.F. MUSEUM SHOW

Wikidata ID

Q20197768

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