(left) Richard Diebenkorn, Berkeley No. 1, 1953. Oil on canvas, 60 1/4 x 52 3/4 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gifford Phillips, 1977. (right) Kenzo Okada, Footsteps, 1954. Oil on canvas, 60 3/8 x 69 7/8 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. Acquired 1956.
Paintings by Nicolas de Stael and Richard Diebenkorn. Photos: Sarah Osborne Bender
Richard Diebenkorn, Ocean Park No. 38, 1971, Oil on canvas, 100 3/16 x 81 in., Gift of Gifford and Joann Phillips, 1999, The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. © The Estate of Richard Diebenkorn.
We’ve missed Richard Diebenkorn’s Ocean Park No. 38 as it tours the country on loan in the traveling exhibition Richard Diebenkorn: the Ocean Park Series. But No. 38 contributes to an exhibition that brings together the pivotal works of the artist’s “Ocean Series” for the first time, and it won’t be long before it’s back in D.C.
After a trip to the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth last year and a stay through May 27 at the Orange County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, the exhibition makes its final stop at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in late June.
With a number of works in The Phillips Collection, Diebenkorn has become one of the cornerstone artists of the museum. Founder Duncan Phillips took a shining to Interior with View of the Ocean, purchasing it in the late 1950s and giving the artist his first East Coast solo museum show.
JOSEPH SHETLER, Museum Assistant
Joseph Shetler, museum assistant on duty in the original House. Photo: Claire Norman
How did you learn about the Phillips?
I had moved here from Arizona and had never really spent much time east of Indiana so I had no idea where to look for a job or what museums where here other than the handful on the mall. So the answer to that question is Craigslist. Turns out, we were a match made in heaven, been together nine months now.
Do you feel you are inspired by the Phillips art?
Definitely. I think I have learned more about painting from my time in the galleries than I did in school. I often get anxious standing among the art because I get ideas that I need to get down on paper. As soon as I am able to get home I often draw until I no longer can. And if I don’t have a chance to work on the idea right away I note it down and give myself time to think about it for a while. Another nice thing about working at the Phillips and being surround by the masters is that you start to grasp what it takes to achieve the quality that museums search for. That quality is the standard I have set for myself. Continue reading
