Details

Political Satire and Social Critique

Explore Philip Guston: The Irony of History, an exhibition showcasing the American artist’s satirical work through 75 drawings, paintings, prints, and a film. It highlights Guston’s caricatural edge in the Nixon Drawings, inspired by Philip Roth’s novel Our Gang, to critique the power and hypocrisies of 1970s America.

Hosted at the Musée national Picasso-Paris, this retrospective reveals connections between Guston’s grotesque figuration and Picasso’s political engravings like Dreams and Lies of Franco, tracing Guston's journey from abstract expressionism to politically engaged painting against social violence and the Ku Klux Klan.

This sharp, darkly humorous immersion blends black comedy and tragedy, prompting reflection on themes of resistance and collective memory through a dialogue between two icons of protest art.​

Dates and Duration

Open from October 14, 2025, to March 1, 2026, the exhibition spans five months, extending the satirical conversation into spring for a deep dive into political themes.

Open Tuesday through Sunday, it offers guided tours and talks to enrich the experience over the seasons.

This generous run invites multiple visits, capturing evolving interpretations in today’s context.​

Opening Hours

Open Tuesday to Sunday, 9:30 AM to 6 PM (last entry 5:15 PM, extended hours until 9 PM on the first Wednesday of each month), closed Mondays and public holidays such as January 1 and December 25.

Self-guided visits take about an hour, with audio guides available in French and English. Guided tours are scheduled for Saturdays at 10:30 AM and Sundays at 11 AM (except the first Sunday of the month).

Flexible hours and monthly late openings accommodate urban schedules while encouraging intimate engagement with Guston’s satirical works.​

Location and Access

The full address is: Musée national Picasso-Paris, 5 rue de Thorigny, 75003 Paris.

Located in the Marais district, the museum is accessible via metro lines 8 and 11 (Saint-Sébastien - Froissart station) or on foot from Place des Vosges.

Set within the historic Hôtel Salé, the venue enhances the contrast between classical architecture and Guston’s subversive art, blending heritage and contemporary critique.​

Admission and Accessibility

Entrance costs €16 full price, covering permanent collections and exhibitions (€12 reduced for students, seniors, and families); free for under 18s, EU residents aged 18-25, job seekers, and on the first Sunday of each month.

Online booking is recommended, with audio guides in French and English, and full accessibility accommodations ensuring inclusive access.

This fair pricing democratizes access to Guston’s socially charged art, welcoming a diverse audience.​

Artistic Context

Born in Canada in 1913 and raised in the U.S., Philip Guston (1913-1980) began with murals influenced by Mexican artists like Orozco, denouncing Ku Klux Klan violence in the 1930s, before joining New York School abstract expressionism in the 1950s.

By the late 1960s, shocking his contemporaries, he shifted to raw figuration inspired by comics, as seen in Bombardment (1937), condemning the Spanish Civil War, and the Nixon Drawings (1971-1973), caricaturing the president and administration with grotesque, Kafkaesque humor inspired by Roth’s book.

Supported by the Philip Guston Foundation and his daughter Musa Mayer, this first French exhibition since 2001 spotlights Guston’s influences from Picasso, Grosz, and Harriman, establishing him as a key figure in politically engaged painting, bridging abstraction and satire in a work that still confronts societal violence and hypocrisy.