A grand reopening and weekend of free festivities kick off 2011 to mark the milestone.
By Sheila Mulhern
The Phillips Collection celebrates 90 years since Duncan Phillips opened its doors and begins with a free weekend for art patrons on January 15th and 16th to the original Phillips house which has been newly renovated. During this weekend there will also be birthday inspired cake designs inspired by Phillips works from some of DC’s favorite pastry chefs including Rebekka Baltzell (Restaurant Eve), Rick Billings (ThinkFoodGroup), Peter Brett (Blue Duck Tavern), Warren Brown (Cake Love), Heather Melanie Parker (701) and Tom Wellings (Equinox). Visitors can donate and vote for the top design which will support Phillips educational programs.
The museum’s cafe will continue the celebration by FoodArts, where visitors 21 and over will enjoy complimentary champagne. Visitors can enjoy free tours and “relay talks” spotlighting 90 works of art as well as art-related films and the final weekend of the Side by Side: Oberlin’s Masterworks at the Phillips exhibition. The anniversary will continued to be honored throughout the year with featured installations and masterworks that include the upcoming:
90 Years of New: Anniversary Reading Room (Jan. 8-Dec 31, 2011)
90 Years of New: Howard Hodgkin’s As Time Goes By (Jan. 8-May 8, 2011)
90 Year of New: Sam Gilliam (Jan. 29-April 24, 2011)
Additional installations on the schedule can be found here. Many of the programs will look back to the many “firsts” of the collections as well as debut The Phillips Collection’s new acquisitions in innovative, contemporary art which is central to the museum since its inception in 1921. The year will close with a birthday bash on November 5, 2011.
Work by Sir Howard Hodgkin, As Time Goes By. Image courtesy of The Phillips Collection.
