, exhibition “Breaking It Down: Conversations from the Vault,” on display until Jan. 19, opens the door to the thinking of art collectors and philanthropists Duncan and Marjorie Phillips and how they established a place for artists working in their early stages.
Several foundational artists such as Georges Braque, Richard Diebenkorn, John Marin, Sam Gilliam, Paul Klee, and Georgia O’Keeffe are included in the “Breaking It Down” collection. In addition, there are several acquisitions from artists making a Phillips Collection debut, including William Christenberry, Walker Evans, Joel Meyerowitz, Sean Scully, Aaron Siskind, Sylvia Snowden, , and Joyce Wellman.
“My idea is not to show all our treasures at once but in ever-varied and purposeful exhibitions, arranging the Collection in units, which are frequently changed so that the walls of the various rooms reveal interesting transformations,” explained Duncan Phillips in 1926 when he laid out his game plan for his collection.
This Phillips Collection exhibition is divided into themed spaces. Visitors will see sculpture, photography, prints, and paintings from various artists such as , born in 1870, and Stout, born in 1958 and currently living in D.C.
One of the galleries, “Rethinking Surfaces,” has an extensive collection of works by Gilliam, who lived in D.C. until his death in 2022.
The Gilliam unit is paired with a work by Lucy T. Pettway from Gee’s Bend, Alabama. Pettway, a quilter, and Gilliam, a painter, show an innovative use of color and design.
Gilliam was known for pouring paint onto unprimed and unstretched canvases and then shaping them. Going up the stairs to view “Breaking It Down,” you will see three drapes of this technique hanging side-by-side.
The “Breaking It Down” exhibition shows a commitment to how work evolves through the stages of an artist’s life.
Renée Maurer, associate curator at The Phillips Collection, talked about the Phillips’ ethos of “supporting living artists by collecting their art in depth over a period of time.”
“Visitors can get to know an artist and see how the work changed every time,” Maurer said.
For more information, go to .