A provocative 1969 painting by Philip Guston featuring Ku Klux Klan imagery is currently on display at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (SLOMA), sparking meaningful conversations about racism, art, and social responsibility. The work, titled "Cigar," depicts a pink-hooded Klansman holding a cigar with gray smoke swirling around the figure, representing one of 33 paintings from Guston's landmark 1970 New York exhibition.
Emma Saperstein, SLOMA's chief curator, describes the painting as a challenging piece that implicates both viewers and the artist himself. The late Canadian-American artist, known for his vocal anti-fascist stance, frequently explored difficult questions about racism and social complicity through his darkly comedic portrayals of KKK members. "I see 'Cigar,' in its personification of racism hidden in plain sight, as a work that forces uncomfortable but necessary conversations," Saperstein told reporters.
The painting's presence at the regional museum is made possible through the Art Bridges Foundation, established in 2017 by philanthropist and Walmart heiress Alice Walton, who also founded the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas. The foundation's mission focuses on expanding access to notable American artworks nationwide by lending pieces to regional institutions at no cost. All exhibition expenses, including shipping and insurance for "Cigar," were covered by Art Bridges, which also provides additional funding for educational programming.
Guston's works typically hang in major metropolitan museums, making this exhibition an unusual opportunity for the regional institution. The painting is part of Art Bridges' collection of approximately 200 objects available for loan to qualifying museums. "Cigar" will remain on display through October 2, giving visitors a rare chance to encounter this significant work that might not otherwise reach their community.
The museum has organized several educational programs around the exhibition. SLOMA recently hosted a lecture by art historian and curator Ellen Landau, who explored Guston's creative evolution from Abstract Expressionism in the 1950s to representational work in the late 1960s. Additionally, students from San Luis Obispo High School's AP Art History class visited the museum as part of an educational outreach program, where they studied the painting and shared their observations on Post-It notes. One student wrote, "The dots represent the sewing together of morality, like a makeshift, silly costume."
The exhibition occurs amid ongoing public dialogue about Guston's KKK imagery series. In 2020, a major Guston retrospective organized by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., was postponed following the Black Lives Matter movement. Museum Director Kaywin Feldman explained at the time that "in today's America, because Guston appropriated images of Black trauma, the show needs to be about more than Guston." This decision prompted an open letter signed by over 2,600 artists, curators, and writers condemning the postponement and accusing museum leadership of fearing controversy.
Contemporary artist Trenton Doyle Hancock has recently engaged with Guston's depictions of American racism through a Black American perspective, becoming the subject of a 2024-25 exhibition at the Jewish Museum. This ongoing scholarly and artistic engagement demonstrates the continued relevance of Guston's work in contemporary discussions about race and representation in art.
Visitor reactions to the painting have been thoughtful and varied. Lena Rushing, SLOMA's Visitor Services Manager, has been collecting responses from museum guests. One visitor named Melodee commented, "Are the dotted lines neighborhood streets? Like [how] racism and hatred are interwoven everywhere. As a native Southern Californian, I know that although it's not perceived as a hotbed of KKK activities, you can always find it lurking under the surface everywhere." Another visitor, Stephanie B., noted that "the painting is as relevant today as ever, when so much extremism is being normalized and celebrated."
The loan represents a significant shift in critical perception of Guston's work. When the painting debuted in 1970, critic Hilton Kramer dismissed Guston as being out of touch with contemporary realities. However, current events and ongoing social tensions suggest that Guston was actually ahead of his time in addressing persistent issues of racism and social complicity in American society.
Looking ahead, Art Bridges Foundation plans to continue its partnership with SLOMA. The organization will lend additional works for a group exhibition scheduled for next spring, featuring pieces by notable artists including Robert Gober, Alex Katz, and Felix Gonzalez-Torres. Among the planned loans is Gonzalez-Torres' "Untitled (L.A.)" from 1991, comprising green candies wrapped in cellophane. Saperstein emphasized that the Guston loan represents "the first of many" collaborations between the foundation and the regional museum, promising continued access to significant American artworks for the local community.
