Philip Guston

Guston knew Pollock from age fourteen (their school expelled them for challenging its policies). He briefly helped Siquieros in Mexico, followed Pollock to New York, and worked under Diller for the WPA. He met de Kooning and Davis at this time, learning about fearlessness with paint by watching Davis through a crack in the wall between their studios. He met Feldman (his closest friend) through Cage, and played out what Kline described as sibling rivalry with Pollock, including drunken fights. Rothko and Newman were other New York artist friends. Roth and he became close in the 1970’s, facing critical hostility.