Feature The musician and indie darling was drawn to John Griswold's intimate tableaux evoking Renaissance and Baroque iconographies.

October 22, 2026 — 4 min read

Phoebe Bridgers's guitar custom-painted by John Griswold (photo by and courtesy Wes Ellis)

On an average day in December 2022, the Pasadena-based surrealist classicist painter John Griswold got an Instagram DM from musician Phoebe Bridgers.

“I remember she said ‘big fan,’” Griswold told Hyperallergic , “and I thought that was pretty funny, given the fact that, to quote a common epithet of hers, she’s ‘ Phoebe Fucking Bridgers .’”

The indie darling went on to ask Griswold if he had ever painted on a guitar, and from there a collaborative artistic relationship was born.…