Washington's distinguished museums include the first modern art museum in the US.  The Phillips Collection comprises more than 25,000 works, of which between 250 and 300 are on exhibit at any one time in this intimate gallery.

Unique collections   In 1921 Duncan Phillips opened two gallery rooms in his Georgian revival mansion as a memorial to his father and brother.  In the same year he married painter Marjorie Acker.  Together they assembled as unparalleled collection of French Impressionists - including August Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party, acquired in 1923 for the then record price of $125,000 - Post Impressionists, cubists, 17th- and 19th century masters, and American modernists.  They avoided the ordinary and sought out paintings that glowed with an artist's unique visions; their unerring eye has given the collection a special quality.  

Masterpieces   The playful Swiss painter Paul Klee is well represented here, as is the master of brilliant domestic images, Pierre Bonnard.  Americans Arthur Dove, Georgia O'Keefe, and Mark Rothko coexist peacefully alongside Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, and Edgar Degas.  The Music Room on the firs floor, with its oak paneling and wainscoting, displays works by one of Phillip's favorite artists, cubist Georges Braque.  The paintings are hung throughout the house and art students, who serve s wardens, are always willing to discuss works in detail.

Dupont Circle    This is an area of appealing brownstones and is a busy urban restaurant district.  It is an area for fun and games for straight or gay people.  The red Metro line stops here and the National Geographic Society is only a few blocks away.

The Phillips Collection of Modern Paintings