Author Archives: Experiment Station

The Phillips Collects: Julia Wachtel

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Curatorial Assistant Camille Brown on Julia Wachtel’s Rabbit Hole, which was recently acquired by The Phillips Collection.

Bold color palettes, pop culture references, and unusual juxtapositions characterize much of the work of Julia Wachtel (b. 1956, New York, New York; lives in Connecticut). Utilizing painting, collage, video, and mixed-media installation, Wachtel investigates the ways in which mass-produced media filters through and effects both the individual and culture at large. Wachtel responds to contemporary life through her work and Rabbit Hole, painted in 2020, was likely created in response to the chaos, discord, and uncertainty that characterized that year. In the painting, an unknown cartoon character plunges their head into the ground. Is this an escape or, perhaps, an act of discovery?

Julia Wachtel, Rabbit Hole, 2020, Oil on wood, 40 x 46 in., The Phillips Collection, The Hereward Lester Cooke Memorial Fund, 2021

Welcome Dr. Yuma I Tomes, Horning Chair for Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion

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Meet our new Horning Chair for Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion, Dr. Yuma I. Tomes. Dr. Tomes bring 20 years of experience to the museum as a leader in community outreach and multicultural initiatives in academia and educational psychology. Here, he shares what brought him to the Phillips and his vision for the museum.

Dr. Yuma Tomes

Why did you want to be CDO at The Phillips Collection?

After spending 20 years in academia and desiring to do more in the areas of diversity and inclusion, I felt a new season was necessary. While I have limited background working with museums, the tenets of the position are directly aligned with my aspirations of creating brave, inclusive spaces for learning and growth. Providing thought leadership in conceptualizing and shaping a center for learning and practice around creativity, empathy, equity, and resilience was appealing. Additionally, the opportunity to build and cultivate external relationships allows The Phillips Collection to become more accessible to diverse audiences. Finally, and possibly most importantly, The Phillips Collection has been “seeing differently” for a century. This mindset promotes an inclusive environment of acceptance and redefining traditional museum practices.

How will your background in academia and as a psychologist inform your work at the Phillips?

Diversity transcends professions by embracing universal principles. In my experiences as a psychologist and university faculty member [at Sam Houston State University and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine], I worked in diversity-rich environments and established numerous equity-based activities that will assist the Phillips’s DEAI work. More specifically, creating multicultural learning modules, developing cultural-conscious training, and increasing cross-cultural communication are of particular interest at The Phillips Collection. Additionally, I think my previous experiences help to bridge arts and academia. While most universities have arts programs, the ability to take the museum to the university in different fields (e.g., psychology, social work, etc.) highlights a unique approach to learning.

What is your priority as the CDO at The Phillips Collection?

I want to build on the success The Phillips Collection has embarked on in DEAI work. Given the intersection of the pandemic and social/racial unrest in the United States, most professional entities have engaged in DEAI work. However, The Phillips Collection has been a leader in this area by being among the first museums to create a Chief Diversity Office position. Priorities include but are not limited to: establishing effective diversity trainings, creating a monthly DEAI newsletter, creating Phillips-in-the-community events, and promoting art and mental well-being. Hopefully these initiatives will establish safe spaces that champion fairness and anti-oppression, positioning The Phillips Collection as a museum of artistic expression, community health, and well-being for the region and throughout the country. 

In 2020, museums across the country issued statements in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and declared their commitment to DEAI. How have you seen the cultural sector respond since then and how will cultural institutions continue to evolve in their DEAI work?

The ground-swell from cultural institutions across the country has been palpable. In 2020, museums were in a unique position to not only chronicle the movement through different art forms, but they were critical to host community meetings and dialogues to promote healing. As a result, museums will continue to shepherd DEAI work through exhibitions, conversations, and community learning opportunities. Museums attract people from different perspectives. These intersecting moments highlight learning opportunities and make community members feel seen and valued.

The Phillips Collection has just celebrated its centennial. What changes do you hope The Phillips Collection makes in the DEAI space over its next century?

I hope The Phillips Collection continues to lead in DEAI and become an institution of inspiration. Museums, like The Phillips Collection, can create learning experiences that advance critical thinking while valuing equity and diversity. This could include a myriad of ideas ranging from an exhibition of art by artists of various backgrounds/abilities/sexual orientation to creating/establishing diversity trainings that are universal in all work environments. Further, The Phillips Collection can be a museum of cultural consciousness advancing the pursuit of equity and accessibility for all. The museum can generate a discourse that can disrupt dominant social narratives that have historically supported hegemonic beliefs. Hopefully, every person entering The Phillips Collection will see themselves reflected through the art, hear their stories through oral traditions/history, and feel they belong to an institution that honors their intersectionality.

From the Archives: Lillian Evanti

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Associate Curator Renée Maurer on Lillian Evanti’s performance at The Phillips Collection in 1942.

Lillian Evans Tibbs, a Paris trained, internationally renowned soprano, with an ability to sing in several languages, traveled the world as Madame Evanti, the first African American opera singer to perform with a major European company. She held concerts at her home on Vermont Avenue, which was transformed into an informal salon, and also at various venues throughout the city, from the White House to the Belasco Theater to the Lincoln Theater to The Phillips Collection.

An important art patron and collector, Lillian Evanti first wrote to Duncan Phillips in early December 1934 after touring the collection. She described her impressions: “The museum is a magnificent contribution to Washington, for which we should be deeply grateful.” She discussed her interest in the interrelation of the arts, her fondness for the August Vincent Tack panels, sent clippings and brochures from previous performances, and asked for “an appointment” hoping to secure a concert in the Music Room. Phillips and Evanti met on December 7, 1934. Although a concert was not immediately scheduled, Evanti kept up her correspondence with Phillips, apprising him of her performances in South America, enclosing publicity brochures that detailed her work, and reminding him of his promise to host an event for her at the museum.

Publicity brochure for Lillian Evanti, which shows her dressed as Violetta from La Traviata standing among the cherry blossoms.

In 1942, Phillips suggested to Evanti that she perform during the Modern Mexican Painters exhibition at the museum. Pleased by the invitation, Evanti shared her memory of their first meeting, which actually occurred eight years before, and offered to sing “Inter-American music with a special group of lovely Mexican songs.” She promised to invite distinguished guests to her performance. But Evanti’s premiere was put on hold until February.

Transcript: My dear Mr. Phillips, Ever since I had the honor and pleasure of meeting you, quite four years ago, I have looked forward to an intimate concert in the Phillips Gallery. It gave me renewed courage when you told me that you would arrange to give me a date during the exhibit of Mexican art. Would you like a program of Inter-American music with a special group of lovely Mexican songs? Then my composition could be sung to bind the spirt of the Inter-American solidarity. I am sure that if Dr. Castillo Nájara is in town he will be there as I know him personally. In fact I know nearly all the Latin American ambassadors and Ministers here. They are all eager to hear my song “Pan Americano.” I have already spoken to my accompanist to be in readiness for a program this month at the Phillips Gallery. Please give me this opportunity that I have long waited for. I think we might expect a very distinguished audience. Yours sincerely, Lillian Evanti.

In mid-February, Evanti secured a day for her debut at the Phillips. The letter below indicates her interests in an immersive experience, one where several works from the collection would be on display in the Music Room to complement her song selection. Phillips kept the installation he had in place since early February 1942, which included paintings by Georges Rouault, Pierre Bonnard, and Rufino Tamayo, among others.

Transcript: My dear Mr. Duncan Phillips: May I make a in the group of Spirituals – Lord I want to be—- Sometimes I feel—– City called Heaven—-Camille Nickerson [mark] stood on de Ribber ob Jerdon—-arr by H.T. Burleigh If possible I would like to make a request. Will you hang in the Gallery for this period a “Le Brun”—or a painting that ties in with the Handel style. also: a “Fragonard”– of the Mozart style. and a Van Gogh–whose style, life and vicitudes correspond perfectly with Hugo Wolf. I feel very sincerely the kindship of the arts and feel that my concert would be greatly augmented if some of the corresponding painters were represented. Most Sincerely Lillian Evanti Feb. 10-’42

On February 15, 1942, Evanti performed in the Music Room “a varied program of Classics, a group by Hugo Wolf, an Inter-American group, and a group of Negro Spirituals. The concert was timed with the Phillips’s inaugural exhibition of Jacob Lawrence’s The Migration Series. Held in the museum’s print rooms, it featured all 60 panels. Evanti’s performance was well received in the local press.

Brochure of Lillian Evanti performance at The Phillips Collection

Program for Lillian Evanti performance at The Phillips Collection

This letter, which expressed the staff’s enjoyment of the concert, was sent to Evanti along with her $100 honorarium.

Transcript: Dear Miss Evanti: I am enclosing herewith the Gallery check for one hundred dollars, the honorarium for your concert given in the Gallery Sunday, February 15th. We all enjoyed it very much and are glad to have this opportunity of hearing you. Sincerely yours,