Phillips Collection Third Thursday Tonight

- The Phillips Collection was America's first museum of modern art, founded in 1921 by Duncan Phillips. It is located in his former 1897 Georgian Revival home in the Dupont Circle neighborhood. - The museum's permanent collection features over 6,000 works, with a strong emphasis on American and European impressionist and modern art. A highlight is Pierre-Auguste Renoir's masterpiece, "Luncheon of the Boating Party," which Phillips purchased in 1923 for $125,000. - A unique feature of the museum is the Rothko Room, a space specifically designed to house four luminous paintings by American Abstract Expressionist Mark Rothko. - Current special exhibitions include "peter campus: there somewhere" and "Rik Freeman: Wade in the Waters," which is on view at the museum's satellite campus, Phillips@THEARC. - The "Third Thursday" event is part of a broader Dupont Circle art walk, with other nearby galleries like IA&A at Hillyer, Studio Gallery, and the Korean Cultural Center also participating with their own events. - Founder Duncan Phillips and his mother established the museum, originally called the Phillips Memorial Gallery, as a tribute after the untimely deaths of his father and brother. His wife, Marjorie Acker Phillips, was also a painter and became his partner in developing the collection. - Upcoming major exhibitions in 2026 include "Miró and the United States," which will explore the influence of American artists on Joan Miró's work. - In addition to its art collections, the museum complex includes a library, archives, a 180-seat auditorium, and an outdoor sculpture courtyard.