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The Phillips Collection

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Established	1921
Location	1600 21st Street NW Washington, D.C.
Type	Art museum
Public transit access	Dupont Circle

The Phillips Collection is a famous art museum in Washington, D.C.. It was started in 1921 by Duncan Phillips and Marjorie Acker Phillips. They first called it the Phillips Memorial Gallery. The museum is located in the Dupont Circle area of Washington, D.C.

The museum has many amazing artworks. Some of the artists whose work you can see there include Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Mark Rothko.

History of The Phillips Collection

Luncheon of the Boating Party (1881) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir is a famous painting at the museum.

How the Museum Started

Duncan Phillips (1886–1966) was very important in bringing modern art to America. He and his mother started The Phillips Memorial Gallery. They did this after his brother and father passed away suddenly.

The museum began with a small collection of family paintings. Duncan Phillips was also an art critic. He quickly added many more artworks to the collection. A special room in their family home was built to show the art to the public.

Growing the Collection and Moving Home

By 1930, the collection had grown to over 600 artworks. Many people wanted to see them. So, the Phillips family moved to a new house. Their old home on 21st Street became the full-time art museum.

Duncan Phillips married a painter named Marjorie Acker in 1921. With her help, Phillips built his collection. He wanted it to be a "museum of modern art and its sources." He believed that artists always influenced each other over time. This idea was new because many people thought modern art was a complete break from the past.

Phillips collected works by old masters like El Greco and Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin. He saw how their art connected to modern painters like Cézanne and Matisse.

Artworks in The Phillips Collection

El Greco, The Repentant St. Peter, around 1600-1605. Duncan Phillips called El Greco the "first impassioned expressionist."

America's First Modern Art Museum

The Phillips Collection opened in 1921. It was America's first museum dedicated to modern art. Today, it has almost 3,000 artworks. These include paintings by American and European impressionist and modern artists. People love the museum for its art and its cozy feeling. It is still in Duncan Phillips’ original 1897 home and two newer parts.

Famous Paintings and Artists

The museum is known for its many impressionist and modern paintings. You can see works by European artists like Gustave Courbet, Pierre Bonnard, Georges Braque, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Klee, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, and Pablo Picasso. In 1923, Phillips bought Pierre-Auguste Renoir's famous painting, Luncheon of the Boating Party. This is the museum’s most well-known artwork.

Unique Ways to Display Art

From the 1920s to the 1960s, Phillips arranged his galleries in a special way. He did not put art in order by date. Instead, he grouped artworks to show how they related to each other. He wanted visitors to see connections between old and new art. He also showed American and European artists side-by-side.

For example, he displayed paintings by Winslow Homer next to works by Pierre Bonnard. He also put van Gogh's art with El Greco’s The Repentant St. Peter. Phillips wanted to bring together "friendly spirits among the artists." His ideas still guide the museum today.

Special Artist Collections

The Phillips Collection is also famous for having many works by certain artists. Duncan Phillips especially loved these artists. For example, he bought 17 paintings by Bonnard because he loved his use of color. The museum also has 13 paintings by Georges Braque, a pioneer of Cubism. There are also many works by Paul Klee and seven pieces by abstract artist Mark Rothko.

Time and Timelessness by Augustus Vincent Tack

Augustus Vincent Tack, Time and Timelessness (The Spirit of Creation), 1943-1944. Phillips was one of the first to appreciate Tack's paintings. The museum has over 40 of his works.

The Rothko Room

The Rothko Room is a very special part of the museum. It was the first public space made just for Mark Rothko's art. Phillips designed it with Rothko's ideas in mind. Rothko wanted his large, colorful paintings to be shown in a small, quiet room. This makes the room feel full of color and emotion. The Rothko Room is the only place where Rothko helped design how his art would be shown.

Supporting New Artists

Phillips bought paintings from many artists who were not yet famous. These included John Marin, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Arthur Dove. By buying their art, Phillips helped these promising artists keep painting. He became close friends with some of them, like Dove and Marin. He also bought art from students to encourage them. The museum was also a special place for artists like Richard Diebenkorn and Gene Davis.

In 2013, the museum opened another special art space. It is a room covered in wax by artist Wolfgang Laib. This artwork is 6 feet by 7 feet and lit by one light bulb. It uses about 500 pounds of wax. Laib was inspired to create this piece after seeing the museum's Rothko Room.

The Museum Building

The Phillips Collection is in a unique building in Washington's Dupont Circle area. Duncan Phillips first showed his art in special galleries inside his own home. This house was built in 1897 in the Georgian Revival style. It is now the southern part of the museum and is a historic landmark.

Over time, the building was changed to add more galleries and offices. This happened especially after the Phillips family moved out in 1930. In 1960, Phillips added a modern section. This part was updated in 1989 and is now called the Goh Annex.

Updates and New Spaces

In April 2006, the Phillips Collection finished a big building project. They added 30,000 square feet of new space. Most of this new area is underground. This helped the museum keep its cozy, home-like feel. It also respected the look of the Dupont Circle neighborhood.

The new spaces are called the Sant Building. They include bigger galleries for large artworks made after the 1950s. There is also a 180-seat auditorium for talks and movies. You can also find an outdoor courtyard, a new shop, and a café. The architect for this new building was Arthur Cotton Moore. Two cool parts of the new building are a winding white staircase inside and a stone sculpture of a bird outside. This bird sculpture is inspired by Georges Braque's painting Bird from the museum's collection.

Learning and Knowledge Center

The 2006 expansion also created The Phillips Collection Center for the Study of Modern Art. This center brings together experts to discuss and research modern art. It is in a two-story building that used to be a carriage house. This is where many lively programs and classes on modern art take place.

In 2015, the Phillips Collection started working with The University of Maryland. They renamed the center The University of Maryland Center for Art and Knowledge at The Phillips Collection. This partnership helps create new art courses, research projects, and events.

Education and Programs

Learning at the Museum

From the very beginning, the museum has focused on education. Art classes used to be held on the third floor of the house. Today, the museum has many lectures, gallery talks, classes, and workshops for families. They also train teachers.

The museum helps the community through programs like Art Links to Literacy. This program helps students and parents from schools that need extra support. It also provides training for their teachers. The museum has new spaces for student art, an art activity room, and an art technology lab. These help with hands-on learning and interactive resources.

Fun Events at the Museum

Phillips After 5: On the first Thursday of every month, you can enjoy live jazz music, gallery talks, and modern art. It's from 5 to 8:30 pm.
Sunday Concerts: These concerts started in 1941. They feature classical chamber music in the museum's Music Room. You can hear famous musicians and talented young artists. The concerts are held from October through May and start at 4 pm.

In 2009, there was a special event called "Art Is _____." Visitors could send text messages to a computer. These messages were then shown on a wall, creating a group art project.

Museum Directors

When Duncan Phillips passed away in 1966, his wife Marjorie became the museum director. Their son, Laughlin, took over in 1972. He worked to make sure the museum's art was safe and that the museum had enough money. He also made the museum buildings better and hired more staff. He helped make the Phillips Collection more open to the public.

Later directors included Charles S. Moffett and Jay Gates. They brought many important art shows to the museum. Dorothy M. Kosinski became the director in May 2008.