Meet some of the talented artists on The Phillips Collection’s staff, whose works are in the 2023 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show (on view through February 16, 2024).
Hannah Longbottom Estrada demonstrates pieces of her thesis work in the Lithography Studio in the Corcoran School of Art and Design on April 9, 2023. : (Photo by Emmy Numann for Emmy Numann Photography)
What is your role at The Phillips Collection? What is something interesting about your job?
I am the Souls Grown Deep Conservation Fellow. An interesting aspect of my department is the use of infrared light on works in the collection. It’s used to reveal layers of materials that are covered in the final piece, sometimes revealing the artist’s process and material choices. I’ve had the opportunity to use it to observe a Cezanne painting!
Who is your favorite artist in the collection?
My favorite artists in the collection are a tie between Philip Guston and the Guerrilla Girls. I love Guston’s style, specifically in his abstract work, but also love the meaning and relevance of work by the Guerrilla Girls.
What is your favorite space within The Phillips Collection?
My favorite space has to be the Music Room. Its detail is impressive and I find something new in it each time I enter.
Music Room at The Phillips Collection. Photo: Lee Stalsworth
What would you like people to know about your artwork on view in the 2024 Staff Show (or your work in general)?
My lithographs were a part of my 8-piece undergraduate thesis, originally shown alongside two oil paintings, three screenprints, and one sawdust alfombra (carpet or rug). The body of work is about queer erasure and the Spanish colonization of Central America.
On view in the Staff Show: Hannah Longbottom Estrada, Semana Santa I and II
Hannah Longbottom Estrada, Semana Santa I and II
Lithograph stones in Hannah’s studio. Photo Emmy Numann
Creating the lithographs. Photo: Emmy Numann
About the artist:
Hannah Longbottom Estrada was born and raised in Southern California. She enjoys oil painting and printmaking, and will further her art practice at the Pyramid Atlantic Art Center’s Keyholder Residency in 2024. Her current work focuses on biopsychosocial health and the colonization of Central America, as stressed in her recent undergraduate thesis. She completed her BA in fine arts, with a minor in emergency health services, at the George Washington University’s Corcoran School of the Arts and Design and hopes to further explore conservation or museum studies in graduate school. Hannah currently holds the Souls Grown Deep Conservation Fellowship at The Phillips Collection.