CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 1/4/2021

In 'Poor Richard by Philip Guston,' a reminder that absolute power corrupts absolutely

Featured drawing is reproduced from Poor Richard by Philip Guston, the artist's legendary political satire of the second most egregious President in recent American history. For anyone looking for a graphically absorbing parallel to today's bizarre news of attempted election tampering, this book is perfection. "Nixon critics tend to associate his name not just with lying and abuse of power," Sebastian Smee writes in the Washington Post, "but also with maudlin sentimentalism and elaborate excuse-making. A half-century later, as we approach the end of the first term of a president who, for many people, has taken these same characteristics to a new and rarefied level, Guston’s Nixon drawings look freshly relevant."