Although Philip Guston's late work had a significant impact on contemporary painters, it has been forgotten how scandalous these works, with their cartoonish iconography and nearly clumsy application of paint, were once regarded as being. The 1970 exhibition at the Marlborough Gallery, where Guston debuted his new style and gave up the delicate abstract expressionism for which he was known, received harsh criticism from critics. After this beating, he withdrew to his studio in Woodstock, New York, partly to tend to his wounds but more to continue painting however he saw fit.
Young poet, writer, and critic Ross Feld was one of the few to express support for Guston's later work. Guston replied with a sincere note of appreciation, and a new friendship was quickly formed. Guston in Time, which was written not long before Feld passed away from cancer, is a portrait of Guston the person, as well as of his wife Musa, who played a significant role in both his life and his art. It also serves as a reckoning with Guston's supremely individual achievement as an artist and stands alone as a work of art.