Today I braved the heat along with Richard Pippin for a visit to the Phillips Collection in D.C. Here is my review.
The Phillips is a medium-sized gallery exhibiting mostly paintings, but also a smattering of photography. The space is gorgeous inside and out, truly one of the nicest spaces I've seen. Unfortunately, the entire building is heavily scaffolded right now so you can't see much of the exterior, but the interior is well arranged and spacious. There is a nice cafe and the staff are quite helpful.
Richard and I went expecting to see some Brett Weston, Kertesz and Stieglitz; all we got was the latter. The other work may be in the collection but was not exhibited. All alone, the Stieglitz was a bit like a fish out of water: just a little hallway of small 4x5 prints beside a large hall of painted works. The Stieglitz prints were mostly sky/cloud/sun "equivalents" that were donated by O'Keefe. These prints were, frankly, poorly executed and presented- almost all of them. These silver gelatin prints appeared to be adhered to some sort of thicker backing, and the resulting postcards were rather shoddily placed inside mats and frames. The prints themselves seemed to have darkened and would require very direct, intense light to appreciate, and several of them were not given that in their current exhibit space. Overall, the print execution, mounting, and overall presentation were not a favourable reflection of Stieglitz.
Richard and I were also sorely disappointed to find some rather low quality, inkjetted prints, near some painted landscape scenes. The skies were blown, the print quality not very good, and the compositions were not special enough to stand on their own (perhaps in a series they might work?). I cannot recall the name of the artist, and that is probably for the best; though there was some reference to Walker Evans, it was certainly not his work nor in any way representative of it.
On a positive note, we did enjoy the Pousette-Dart exhibit, which presented many interesting ideas for abstractions. That collection was large (in size and in volume), large enough to get a feeling for the ideas and the medium. Adjacent work (by Van Gogh and other notables) did not disappoint and left me grateful for the visual inspiration. I came to the collection expecting one thing and was briefly disappointed, but now I have been introduced to Pousette-Dart and I cannot complain.
Overall I'd give the Phillips a B. It was disappointing in some respects, but worth a look if Pousette-Dart interest you. I do hope that more serious attention will be given to photographic works of the highest calibre. The photobooks in the shop contain so many inspiring photographs, none of which can be found in the actual gallery.
The highlight of the visit for me was a wonderful tie that I found in the shop: it has a repeating pattern of crown graphics with flashes. $45 but worth every penny for someone who has to wear ties fairly regularly
The Phillips is a medium-sized gallery exhibiting mostly paintings, but also a smattering of photography. The space is gorgeous inside and out, truly one of the nicest spaces I've seen. Unfortunately, the entire building is heavily scaffolded right now so you can't see much of the exterior, but the interior is well arranged and spacious. There is a nice cafe and the staff are quite helpful.
Richard and I went expecting to see some Brett Weston, Kertesz and Stieglitz; all we got was the latter. The other work may be in the collection but was not exhibited. All alone, the Stieglitz was a bit like a fish out of water: just a little hallway of small 4x5 prints beside a large hall of painted works. The Stieglitz prints were mostly sky/cloud/sun "equivalents" that were donated by O'Keefe. These prints were, frankly, poorly executed and presented- almost all of them. These silver gelatin prints appeared to be adhered to some sort of thicker backing, and the resulting postcards were rather shoddily placed inside mats and frames. The prints themselves seemed to have darkened and would require very direct, intense light to appreciate, and several of them were not given that in their current exhibit space. Overall, the print execution, mounting, and overall presentation were not a favourable reflection of Stieglitz.
Richard and I were also sorely disappointed to find some rather low quality, inkjetted prints, near some painted landscape scenes. The skies were blown, the print quality not very good, and the compositions were not special enough to stand on their own (perhaps in a series they might work?). I cannot recall the name of the artist, and that is probably for the best; though there was some reference to Walker Evans, it was certainly not his work nor in any way representative of it.
On a positive note, we did enjoy the Pousette-Dart exhibit, which presented many interesting ideas for abstractions. That collection was large (in size and in volume), large enough to get a feeling for the ideas and the medium. Adjacent work (by Van Gogh and other notables) did not disappoint and left me grateful for the visual inspiration. I came to the collection expecting one thing and was briefly disappointed, but now I have been introduced to Pousette-Dart and I cannot complain.
Overall I'd give the Phillips a B. It was disappointing in some respects, but worth a look if Pousette-Dart interest you. I do hope that more serious attention will be given to photographic works of the highest calibre. The photobooks in the shop contain so many inspiring photographs, none of which can be found in the actual gallery.
The highlight of the visit for me was a wonderful tie that I found in the shop: it has a repeating pattern of crown graphics with flashes. $45 but worth every penny for someone who has to wear ties fairly regularly
