The Phillips Collection is an

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership, be accessible to all, or have restrictions in place. Although ...

founded by Duncan Phillips and Marjorie Acker Phillips in 1921 as the Phillips Memorial Gallery located in the

Dupont Circle Dupont Circle is a historic roundabout park and Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood of Washington, D.C., located in Northwest (Washington, D.C.), Northwest D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th St ...

neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Phillips was the grandson of James H. Laughlin, a banker and co-founder of the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company. Among the artists represented in the collection are Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Gustave Courbet,

El Greco Doménikos Theotokópoulos (, ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco (; "The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance, regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. ...

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

, Georges Braque, Pierre Bonnard,

Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...

, Arthur Dove, Winslow Homer,

James McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral a ...

, Jacob Lawrence, Augustus Vincent Tack, Georgia O'Keeffe,

Karel Appel Christiaan Karel Appel (; 25 April 1921 – 3 May 2006) was a Dutch painter, sculptor, and poet. He started painting at the age of fourteen and studied at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam in the 1940s. He was one of the founders of the avant-gard ...

, Joan Miró,

Mark Rothko Mark Rothko ( ; Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz until 1940; September 25, 1903February 25, 1970) was an American abstract art, abstract painter. He is best known for his color field paintings that depicted irregular and painterly rectangular reg ...

and

Berenice Abbott Berenice Alice Abbott (July 17, 1898 – December 9, 1991) was an American photographer best known for her portraits of cultural figures of the interwar period, New York City photographs of architecture and urban design of the 1930s, and science ...

History

Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Luncheon of the Boating Party - Google Art Project

Duncan Phillips (1886–1966) played a seminal role in introducing America to

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...

. Born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

—the grandson of James H. Laughlin, a banker and co-founder of the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company—Phillips and his family moved to Washington, D.C., in 1895. He, along with his mother, established The Phillips Memorial Gallery after the sudden, untimely deaths of his brother, James Laughlin Phillips (May 30, 1884 – 1918), and of his father, Duncan Clinch Phillips (1838–1917), a

window glass millionaire and member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, owners of the dam whose failure resulted in the Johnstown Flood. Beginning with a small family collection of paintings, Phillips, a published art critic, expanded the collection dramatically. A specially built room over the north wing of the family home provided a public gallery space. With the collection exceeding 600 works and facing public demand, the Phillips family moved to a new home in 1930, turning the entire 21st Street residence into an art museum. Duncan Phillips married painter Marjorie Acker in 1921. With her assistance and advice, Phillips developed his collection "as a museum of modern art and its sources", believing strongly in the continuum of artists influencing their successors through the centuries. His focus on the continuous tradition of art was revolutionary when America was largely critical of

modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

, which was seen as a break from the past. Phillips collected works by masters such as El Greco, calling him the "first impassioned expressionist"; Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin because he was "the first modern painter";

Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish Romanticism, romantic painter and Printmaking, printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Hi ...

because he was "the stepping stone between the Old Masters and the Great Moderns like Cézanne"; and

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French Modernism, modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism (art movement), R ...

, a "significant link in a chain which began with Goya and which edto

Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

and Matisse." Polly Fritchey, hostess and wife of columnist Clayton Fritchey, helped the Phillips Collection evolve from a small family museum into a public art gallery and was one of the first trustees appointed from outside the family. Moreover, she helped launch its national fundraising campaign.

Collection

The Phillips Collection opened in 1921. Featuring a permanent collection of nearly 3,000 works by American and European impressionist and modern artists, the Phillips is recognized for both its art and its intimate atmosphere. It is housed in founder Duncan Phillips’ 1897 Georgian Revival home and two similarly scaled additions in Washington, D.C.’s

neighborhood. The museum is noted for its broad representation of both impressionist and modern paintings, with works by European masters such as Gustave Courbet, Pierre Bonnard, Georges Braque, Jacques Villon,

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work introduced new modes of representation, influenced avant-garde artistic movements of the early 20th century a ...

Honoré Daumier Honoré-Victorin Daumier (; February 26, 1808 – February 10 or 11, 1879) was a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker, whose many works offer commentary on the social and political life in France, from the July Revolution, Revolution of 1830 ...

, Edgar Degas,

, and

. In 1923, Phillips purchased Pierre-Auguste Renoir's impressionist painting, '' Luncheon of the Boating Party'' (1880–81), the museum’s best-known work. From the 1920s to the 1960s, Phillips re-arranged his galleries in installations that were non-chronological and non-traditional, reflecting the relationships he saw between various artistic expressions. He presented visual connections—between past and present, between classical form and romantic expression—as dialogues on the museum's walls. Giving equal focus to American and European artists, Phillips juxtaposed works by Winslow Homer,

Thomas Eakins Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins (; July 25, 1844 – June 25, 1916) was an American Realism (visual arts), realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important American artist ...

, Maurice Prendergast,

James Abbott McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral a ...

, and

Albert Pinkham Ryder Albert Pinkham Ryder (March 19, 1847 – March 28, 1917) was an American painter best known for his poetic and moody allegory, allegorical works and seascapes, as well as his Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric personality. While his art shared an ...

with canvases by Pierre Bonnard, Peter Ilsted and

Édouard Vuillard Jean-Édouard Vuillard (; 11 November 186821 June 1940) was a French painter, decorative artist, and printmaker. From 1891 through 1900, Vuillard was a member of the avant garde artistic group Les Nabis, creating paintings that assembled areas ...

. He exhibited watercolors by John Marin with paintings by Cézanne, and works by van Gogh with El Greco’s ''The Repentant St. Peter'' (circa 1600–05). Phillips’ vision brought together "congenial spirits among the artists," and his ideas still guide the museum today. The Phillips Collection is also known for its groups of works by artists whom Phillips particularly favored. For example, he was overwhelmed by Bonnard's expressive use of color, acquiring 17 paintings by the artist. Cubist pioneer Braque is represented by 13 paintings, including the monumental still-life ''The Round Table'' (1929). The collection has an equal number of works by Klee, such as ''Arab Song'' (1932) and ''Picture Album'' (1937), as well as seven pieces by abstract expressionist artist

. The Rothko Room, the first public space dedicated solely to the artist's work, was designed by Phillips in keeping with Rothko's expressed preference for exhibiting his large, luminous paintings in a small, intimate space, saturating the room with color and sensation. The Rothko Room is the only existing installation for the artist's work in collaboration with the artist himself. Phillips was initially attracted to Rothko's work because he saw the use of color as similar to Bonnard's. Throughout his lifetime, Phillips acquired paintings by many artists who were not fully recognized at the time, among them John Marin, Georgia O'Keeffe, Arthur Dove, Nicolas de Staël,

Milton Avery Milton Clark Avery (; March 7, 1885 – January 3, 1965Haskell, B. (2003). "Avery, Milton". Grove Art Online.) was an American Modern art, modern painter. Born in Altmar, New York, he moved to Connecticut in 1898 and later to New York City. He wa ...

, Betty Lane and Augustus Vincent Tack. By purchasing works by such promising but unknown artists, Phillips provided them with the means to continue painting. He formed close bonds with and subsidized several artists who are prominently featured in the collection—Dove and Marin in particular—and consistently purchased works by artists and students for what he called his "encouragement collection." The museum also served as a visual haven for artists such as Richard Diebenkorn, Gene Davis, and Kenneth Noland. In a 1982 tribute to the museum, Noland acknowledged, "I’ve spent many hours of many days in this home of art. You can be with art in the Phillips as in no other place I know." In 2013, the museum opened its second permanent installation, a room covered in wax by artist Wolfgang Laib. Though Laib's work is often interpreted as evocative of nature, the piece, which is 6 feet by 7 feet and illuminated by one bare bulb, can also seem harsh and enigmatic. Laib became interested in the site-specific installation, which requires about 500 pounds of wax, after visiting the museum's Rothko Room.

Building

The Phillips Collection is housed in a distinctive space in Washington's

neighborhood. From the beginning, Duncan Phillips exhibited his collection in special galleries at his home. A Georgian Revival house dating to 1897, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

as the Duncan Phillips House, it now forms the southern section of the museum building; the north section of the collection is called the Goh Annex. Over time, the building was adapted to include more galleries and offices, particularly after the Phillips family moved out in 1930. In 1960, Phillips added a modernist wing. This addition was renovated and reconceived in 1989 with the aid of a $1.5 million gift from Japanese businessman Yasuhiro Goh and his wife Mes. Hiroko Goh. The addition is known as the Goh Annex.

2006 renovation and expansion project

To accommodate its ever-growing collection of art, audiences, and activities, the Phillips completed a major building project in April 2006. With 65 percent of the added located below ground, the expansion preserves the intimate scale and residential quality that distinguishes The Phillips Collection and respects the character of the Dupont Circle neighborhood. The new spaces, known as the Sant Building, incorporate expanded galleries, among them the first to accommodate larger-scale post-1950s work; a 180-seat auditorium for lectures, films, and events; an outdoor courtyard; and a new shop and café. The architect for the new building was Arthur Cotton Moore. Two of the most notable elements of the new structure are the winding white interior staircase and the external sculptural stone relief of a bird relating to Georges Braque's painting ''Bird'' from the museum's collection.

The University of Maryland Center for Art and Knowledge at The Phillips Collection

The 2006 addition also made possible The Phillips Collection Center for the Study of Modern Art. This new museum-based educational model brought together scholars from across academic fields in an ongoing forum for discussion, research, and publishing on modern art. The two-story building, formerly the carriage house, is the site of programs and classes on modern and contemporary art and artists. In 2015, the Phillips launched a partnership with The University of Maryland with a shared vision to transform scholarship and innovation in the arts. The Center was renamed The "University of Maryland Center for Art and Knowledge at The Phillips Collection", which is the expansion of the Center for the Study of Modern Art in the museum and the nexus for academic work, scholarly exchange, and innovative interdisciplinary collaborations. Some of the key collaborations of the partnership include developing a new arts curriculum and extended studies courses, postdoctoral fellowships, a biennial book prize, and programming and events.

Café

Bread Furst is the current Café at the Phillips Collection. An artisanal bakery founded by Mark Furstenberg, it also serves wines, empanadas and other creations by Mark's team of chefs.

Services

Phillips collections offers education services in collaboration with District of Columbia Public Schools and other institutions in the area, it also present many live programs in the main building both in the house and in the galleries section.

Education

Since the museum's early years, when art classes were held on the third floor of the house, significant attention has been given to educational outreach. Today, the museum features an active schedule of lectures, gallery talks, classes, parent/child workshops, and teacher training programs. It also reaches out to the community through initiatives such as Art Links to Literacy, combining programs for underserved students at District of Columbia Public Schools and their parents and caregivers with professional development for their teachers. These and other ventures are facilitated by new exhibition spaces for student art, an art activity room for hands-on education projects, and an art technology lab for developing interactive resources based on the museum's educational programs. In 2015, the museum joined forces with the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. The two institutions will work together to establish the University of Maryland Center for Art and Knowledge at the Phillips Collection.

Programs

Phillips After 5 combines live jazz, gallery talks, modern art, and a cash bar on the first Thursday of every month from 5 to 8:30 pm. Sunday Concerts, founded in 1941, offer classical chamber music in the intimacy of the museum's oak-paneled Music Room. The concerts have featured ensembles and soloists ranging from Glenn Gould, Jessye Norman, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Emanuel Ax to some of the most talented young musicians performing today. Sunday Concerts are held from October through May. They begin promptly at 4 pm. Live music is presented in the House, with local musician performances and sometimes visitor musicians from abroad. They are presented in many events, among them the yearly New Year Celebration, the Phillips Collection anniversary among other events. Centennial music commission are creative dialogues between music and visual art, where composers respond to works in the collection. These audiovisual artworks free to reproduce on the Phillips collection website. In December 2009, The Pink Line Project put together a

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms, such as Text (literary theory), writing, Sound, audio, images, animations, or video, into a single presentation. T ...

evening called "Art Is _____." Visitors were invited to remix the definition of art, using Duncan Phillips's writings as source material. Guests could send text messages to a computer engineer who projected them onto a wall, creating a group art project. In 2021, the museum hosted a juried invitational exhibition titled ''Inside Outside, Upside Down'', which was described by '' The Washington City Paper'' as forcing "us to remember a time that left us 'confused, battered, and disoriented' through the eyes of 64 D.C.-area artists." Artwalks are events hold in the museum the third Thursday of every month between 5 P.M. and 8 P.M. A curator or an invited guest walk with visitors through the gallery while talk about the life and work of the author or authors and give insights of history behind the art works exposed. Meditation is a free wellness activity led by local yoga teacher Aparna Sadananda. This weekly meditation is a 30-minute program presented initially as an in person activity, after COVID-19 pandemic is presented online, it is a free access activity that is held through Zoom software, a free videoconference tool that can be installed in mobile phones, laptops and

Smart TV A smart TV, also known as a connected TV (CTV or, rarely, CoTV), is a traditional television set with integrated Internet and interactive Web 2.0 features that allow users to stream music and videos, browse the internet, and view photos. Smart T ...

s.. The activity itself promote wellness and help to cope with the stress promoted by the current culture values and with the challenges brought by COVID-19 itself. 360-Degree tours are virtual tours of the museum exhibitions and installations it includes full screen images, the describing text of the art work, and audio guides.

Directors

When Duncan Phillips died in 1966, his wife Marjorie succeeded him as museum director. Their son, Laughlin, became director in 1972. He led The Phillips Collection through a multi-year program to ensure the physical and financial security of the collection, renovate and enlarge the museum buildings, expand and professionalize the staff, conduct research on the collection, and make the Phillips more accessible to the public. In 1992, Charles S. Moffett, a noted author and curator, was named director. Moffett was directly involved with the presentation of several ambitious exhibitions during his six-year tenure, including the memorable "Impressionists on the Seine: A Celebration of Renoir’s ''Luncheon of the Boating Party''" in 1996. Jay Gates became director in 1998. Under his leadership, The Phillips Collection continued to grow and broaden its presence in Washington, D.C., across the country, and internationally. Dorothy M. Kosinski, previously a curator at the Dallas Museum of Art, took over as director in May 2008. Kosinski became director emerita in 2023 as Jonathan Binstock, from the Memorial Art Gallery of the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

(NY), assumed the directorship.Philip Kennicott, The Washington Post, ''Phillips Collection hires art historian as new director''
Retrieved January 1, 2023

List of directors

* Jonathan P. Binstock (2023-present) *Dorothy M. Kosinski (2008–2023) *Jay Gates (1998–2008) *Charles Moffett (1992–1998) * Laughlin Phillips (1972–1992), son of Duncan and Marjorie Phillips * Marjorie Acker (1966–1972), artist and wife of Duncan Phillips * Duncan Phillips (1921–1966), founder

Selected highlights

File:Francisco José de Goya - The Repentant St. Peter - Google Art Project.jpg,

, ''St. Peter Repentant,'' 1823-1825 File:Eugène Ferdinand Victor Delacroix 045.jpg, Eugène Delacroix, ''Portrait of Paganini'', 1832 File:Honore Daumier The Uprising.jpg,

, ''The Uprising'', 1848 File:Mont Sainte-Victoire with Large Pine 1886-1887 Paul Cezzane.jpg,

, ''Mont Sainte-Victoire with Large Pine'', 1886-1887 File:Paul Gauguin 035.jpg, Paul Gauguin, ''The Ham'', 1889 File:Van Gogh Entrance to the Public Park in Arles.jpg,

, ''Entrance to the Public Park in Arles'', 1888 File:Van Gogh The Road Menders-1889-Phillips.jpg,

, ''The Road Menders,'' 1889 File:Albert Pinkham Ryder - Moonlit Cove - Google Art Project.jpg,

, ''Seacoast in Moonlight,'' 1890 File:Van Gogh Wheat Field at Auvers with House.jpg,

, ''Wheat Field at Auvers with House'', 1890 Julian Alden Weir 001.jpg, J. Alden Weir, ''The Red Bridge,'' 1895 File:The Blue Room.jpeg,

, '' The Blue Room'', 1900 Image:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - The Judgement of Paris - Google Art Project.jpg, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, '' Judgment of Paris'', 1908 File:Amedeo Modigliani - Elena Povolozky - Google Art Project.jpg,

Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (; ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor of the École de Paris who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern art, modern style characterized by a surre ...

, ''Portrait of Elena Pavlowski'', 1917

References

External links

*
Washington Post.com: "The Goh Annex"The Phillips Collection
within Google Arts & Culture * {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips Collection Art museums and galleries in Washington, D.C. Biographical museums in Washington, D.C. Museums of American art Dupont Circle Embassy Row Former private collections in the United States Members of the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington Art museums and galleries established in 1921 1921 establishments in Washington, D.C. Georgian Revival architecture in Washington, D.C.