The Emerald Pools

Posted on by

On vacation last week in Upstate New York, I climbed the gorge at Watkins Glen State Park, spotting many pools that brought to mind John Twachtman’s The Emerald Pool (ca. 1895). Of course, Twachtman’s pool was likely a hot spring and surrounded by the open and dry dirt ground of Yellowstone Park and not the dark, wet stone and lush greenery of the glen. But the beautiful emerald effect of deep pooling water immediately brought this painting to my mind. Duncan Phillips was a great admirer of Twachtman, hanging The Emerald Pool in an esteemed spot alongside Monet for many years. And Marjorie Phillips recorded in her book that, after a visit to the Phillips in 1926, Pierre Bonnard said that it was his favorite American painting.

(Left) Twachtman, John Henry, The Emerald Pool, ca. 1895, Oil on canvas 25 x 25 in.; 63.5 x 63.5 cm.. Acquired 1921. The Phillips Collection, Washington DC. (Right) Photo by Sarah Osborne Bender

(Left) John Henry Twachtman, The Emerald Pool, ca. 1895, Oil on canvas 25 x 25 in.; 63.5 x 63.5 cm.. Acquired 1921. The Phillips Collection, Washington DC. (Right) Photo by Sarah Osborne Bender

American Acrostics: Arthur G. Dove

Posted on by

Arthur G. Dove, Lake Afternoon, 1935, Wax emulsion on canvas 25 x 35 in.; 63.5 x 88.9 cm.. Acquired 1947. The Phillips Collection, DC.

To celebrate the last month of Made in the USA, we’ve asked Phillips staff to create acrostic poems for works in the exhibition. We’ll feature some of our favorite submissions over the next few weeks. In this post, Michele De Shazo, Assistant Registrar for Visual Resources and Collection, describes a work she finds “creepy” with three great words.

Arthur G. Dove, Lake Afternoon

Unusual
Sentient
Animals

Michele De Shazo, Assistant Registrar for Visual Resources and Collection

Freshening the Made in the USA Galleries

Posted on by

Made in the USA curator Susan Behrends Frank discusses some of the recent additions to the exhibition galleries,  from Duncan Phillips’s first personal acquisition (Ernest Lawson’s High Bridge—Early Moon) to one of his final purchases before his death (Loren MacIver’s Printemps).