Sleeper I

1958

Dating: Exact year
Held at: The Cleveland Museum of Art
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: Framed: 170 x 195 x 4.5 cm (66 15/16 x 76 3/4 x 1 3/4 in.); Unframed: 168.2 x 193 cm (66 1/4 x 76 in.)
Collection no.: 1961.21
Attribution: By the artist

About this artwork

Sleeper I — Philip Guston. 1958.

Medium: oil on canvas. Dimensions: Framed: 170 x 195 x 4.5 cm (66 15/16 x 76 3/4 x 1 3/4 in.); Unframed: 168.2 x 193 cm (66 1/4 x 76 in.).

Collection record: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.

Philip Guston’s working method at the time he created Sleeper I entailed a progression from relying on accidental effects to being more deliberate; in his words, “The air of arbitrary vanishes and the paint falls into positions that feel destined.”

Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.

Location checked Sep 10, 2026. This does not indicate whether the work is on display.

Artwork sources