Portrait of Americana: Night Baseball

Marjorie Phillips, Night Baseball, 1951. Oil on canvas, 24 1/4 x 36 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. Gift of the artist, 1951 or 1952

Marjorie Phillips, Night Baseball, 1951. Oil on canvas, 24 1/4 x 36 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. Gift of the artist, 1951 or 1952

My favorite work from The Phillips Collection’s permanent collection is Marjorie Phillips’s 1951 oil painting, Night Baseball. There is something nostalgic about the way Phillips represents a night at Griffith Stadium. This visual representation of the moment just before the pitch is thrown evokes all of the other senses. When I look at this painting, I hear the buzz of the crowd and I feel the wind push my skin as the breeze ushers in the smells of the ballpark. Phillips masterfully depicts a night sky that is black but somehow simultaneously glowing from the stadium lights—an effect that is familiar to anyone who has been to a nighttime sports game.

Night Baseball is an enduring snapshot of American life. Perhaps my favorite thing about this piece is its current placement within the museum: on a wall adjacent to the landing of a staircase; the location seems almost incidental. I think its placement adds to its charm—Night Baseball endears itself to the viewer by immersing her in a sensory-rich, familiar American scene.

Lizzie Moore, Marketing & Communications Intern

ArtGrams: Phillips Around the World

Caixa_polabangbang

Photo by Instagrammer @polabangbang of Delacroix’s “Horses Coming Out of the Sea” (1860)

Some works from the Phillips’s permanent collection have been on a world tour over the past year, and visitors from have been sharing their creative photos from abroad! In this month’s ArtGrams, check out some of our favorite Instagram photos of these works as they visit Fundación “la Caixa” in Barcelona, Spain.

Caixa_martaparent

Installation view of the Phillips’s traveling exhibition at Fundación “la Caixa” in Barcelona, Spain, captured by Instagrammer @martaparent

Caixa_dimasfabregas

A quiet moment with Richard Diebenkorn’s “Ocean Park No. 38” (1971) via Instagrammer @dimasfabregas

Caixa_journalofnat

Photo by Instagrammer @journalofnat

Caixa_alba_hebe

Close-up of Morris Louis’s “Number 182” (1961) by Instagrammer @alba_hebe

Caixa_pepetrullas

Strong vertical gallery shot of the exhibition by Instagrammer @pepetrullas

Caixa_wearethecosmos

Visitor with Philip Guston’s “The Lesson” (1975). Photo: @wearethecosmos

Caixa_m_lgarcia

Reproduction of the Rothko Room! Photo: @m_lgarcia

3 Sunny Moments from the Collection

Knath_The Sun

Karl Knaths, The Sun, 1950. Oil on canvas, 36 x 42 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, Acquired 1950

Dove_Red Sun

Arthur Dove, Red Sun, 1935. Oil on canvas, 20 1/4 x 28 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, Acquired 1935

Phillips_Sun at Twilight

Marjorie Phillips, Sun at Twilight, 1959. Oil on canvas, 39 1/4 x 28 3/4 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, Acquired 1985