Randuwa II: The Phillips Collection: Introduction

Sunday, August 4, 2024

The Phillips Collection: Introduction

Living in Washington DC is a gift. There are so many wonderful things, accessible things to challenge one's mind, soften one's heart, deepen one's understanding, and inspire one's imagination. It can be a thinking person's city. I wonder sometimes just how much those who don't live here can even imagine the real Washington, DC. Popular media isn't going to help you, that's for sure!

One of the true gems is an intimate art museum called The Phillips Collection. It was started in the home of Duncan and Marjorie Phillips (children of the Robber Barons of the 19th century) back in 1921. The family wealth came from involvement in the steel and domestic building glass industries. At the time it opened, it was heralded as the first Modern Art Museum in the United States. Keeping in mind that it was showing works of the Impressionists, post-impressionists and budding movements like the Ashcan School here in the U.S.

By APK at English Wikipedia

I have a personal connection to the place, too. Back around the turn of the millennium, my ex- worked there. It was a connection that afforded me a lot of access and opportunities of which I advantaged myself. I remember getting free tickets to annual award honoree lectures by the Sculptors Deborah Butterfield (think amazing life-sized horses made from found objects like scrap metal and drift wood) and Martin Puryear (the first African American artist to represent the United States at an international biennially exposition). I came to know the museum and its collection well.

However, with familiarity comes complacency. It had been before the pandemic since I'd visited. And things at the Phillips are changing--and for the better. Back in 2018, The Phillips Collection hired its first CDO (Chief Diversity Officer). In 2021, they received a gift of 2 million dollars to endow the position. Part of the goal was to better serve the diverse community and elevate works of marginalized groups and artists. The exhibits that I saw today would suggest that the transformation is bearing much fruit. But before I share some of those images and impressions, let's just take a moment and a snapshot of some works from the museum's rich collections.

I started my return tour on the second floor of the Annex and almost immediately encountered the crown jewel of the collection. At the time of its purchase, I seem to recall that advisors of Duncan Phillips were against buying "Luncheon of the Boating Party". Too pedestrian of subject matter. Thankfully, he trusted his own instincts in the end, for it is hard to argue that there is a more beloved painting by Renoir.