A Break for Sunlight and Warmth

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Sarah Osborne Bender

It was with great pleasure yesterday that many of us attended a brown bag lunch talk from guest curator Cornelia Homburg who previewed her upcoming exhibition at the Phillips opening September 27th, 2014. Images, such as those below, quickly transported us from the unwelcome snow of DC to warm, sunny southern France.

(Left) Henri-Edmond Cross, Plage de la Vignasse, les Iles d’Or, 1891-1892, huile sur toile. 65,5 x 92,2 cm. © MuMa Le Havre / David Fogel (Right) Paul Signac, Setting Sun. Sardine Fishing. Adagio. Opus 221 from the series The Sea, The Boats, Concarneau, 1891. Oil on canvas, 25 5/8 x 31 7/8″ (65 x 81 cm). Mrs. John Hay Whitney Bequest. 585.1998 © 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.

Playing with Light in the Dark

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Sarah Osborne Bender

Vesela Sretenović, Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, installed dramatically lit sculpture in a darkly painted intimate gallery to play with light, dark, and shadow on the third floor of the house. Our collection of sculpture doesn’t get seen as often as other works and to have an entire room dedicated to these choice pieces is a treat.

Left: (behind) Auguste Rodin, Female Torso, Kneeling, Twisting Nude, not dated/cast 1984, Bronze overall: 23 3/4 x 12 5/8 x 13 3/4 in; Gift of Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, 2009. Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Dog, 1914, Bronze 6 x 14 x 3 in. Gift of H.S. Ede, 1965. Center: Alexander Archipenko, Arabian, between 1930 and 1940, terra cotta 24 in. In Memory of Ellen Dupont Wheelright, 1992. Right: Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Richard Guino, Mother and Child, 1916, Bronze 21 1/2 x 8 x 8 1/2 in. Acquired 1940. All: The Phillips Collection, Washington DC. Photos: Joshua Navarro

Left: (far left) Hans (Jean) Arp, Tête Heaume II (Helmeted Head II), 1959, Bronze overall: 22 in. Gift of John and Joy Safer, 2003. (left center) Moore, Henry, Family Group, 1946, Bronze 17 1/2 x 13 x 8 5/8 in. Acquired 1947. Center: View of gallery. Right: Pablo Picasso, Head of a Woman, 1950, Bronze 12 1/2 x 8 1/2 x 5 1/4 in. Acquired 1972. All: The Phillips Collection, Washington DC. Photos: Joshua Navarro

Lunar New Year: Year of the Horse Day 13

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Sarah Osborne Bender

The Phillips family on an excursion in an unknown location. Left to right: Eliza Laughlin Phillips, Major Duncan Clinch Phillips, unknown companion, Jim Phillips, Duncan Phillips, and a guide, before 1918. Photo: Phillips Collection Archives.

It was unknown to me when we started this Year of the Horse series that there was a little bit of important trivia to be learned. Thanks to Ianthe Gergel, we now know that the surname “Phillips” means “son of Phillip”, and that the given name Philip comes from the Latin name Philippus, meaning “fond of horses.”