"Philip Guston (1913-1980) was one of the most important and influential American artists of the twentieth century, whose work is most notable for its expressive range and mutability. Unlike his paintings, Guston's works on paper did not have a secondary function. For decades, the immediacy of drawing allowed Guston not only the chance to experiment with unsolved issues and technique, but also the ability to reflect and critically reorient his work. Ultimately, his obsessive preoccupation with drawing also helped him overcome a profound artistic crisis in the late sixties." "Despite their central position in his work, his drawings have not received the attention they so richly deserve. This catalogue, published in conjunction with the first major European retrospective of Guston's drawings since the eighties, examines his development from the forties until the artist's death in 1980."--BOOK JACKET.