Nearly 400 of Washington’s most powerful and prestigious leaders gathered at The Phillips Collection for an evening of friends, family, and art.
The Gala included Members of Congress, Supreme Court Justices, Ambassadors, and Washington socialites. Guests dined among masterpieces by Degas, Matisse, Renoir, Diebenkorn, O’Keeffe, and Lawrence to celebrate The Phillips Collection’s award-winning education programs. More than $520,000 was raised at this year’s Gala. Lockheed Martin was the Gala Host and lead sponsor again this year, as they have been in the prior three years.
The evening began with a cocktail reception in the museum’s Cafritz Gallery and Hunter Courtyard, followed by a seated dinner in the galleries. The dinner featured a locally sourced, sustainable menu including Chesapeake Bay crab, wild shrimp, grass-fed veal, herbs and vegetables, organic wines, and fair trade locally roasted coffee
Immediately following the Gala, guests moved to nearby Anderson House for late night dessert and dancing to the Glenn Pearson orchestra. Guests selected from a drink menu of art-infused cocktails and custom martinis in addition to dessert, ice cream and sorbet stations, and a European coffee bar.
All proceeds from the Gala will support The Phillips Collection’s award-winning education programs, which serve 90,000 children, teachers, and families in the D.C. community and across the country each year. With a particular focus on schools in Washington, D.C., these collaborative programs offer an array of educational resources, interactive tools, and peer-to-peer teacher training. The Gala has provided nearly more than $2.4 million for these programs in the last four years.
As part of the education focus, The Phillips Collection recognized two local teachers, Carole Whelan of Oyster Bilingual School and Joele Michaud of Shepherd Elementary School, for their service to the Washington community. Both teachers have been avidly involved with The Phillips Collection teacher mentor program and in fostering the artistic creativity of many of D.C.’s youth.
“This year’s gala focused on supporting the local community and economy from the recipients of The Phillips Collection’s education programs to the menu and honorees,” noted George Vradenburg, Chairman of The Phillips Collection. “In honor of Lockheed Martin, even the floral arrangements from the evening will be donated to the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, located in Washington, D.C.”
Guests attending the gala had the opportunity to tour The Phillips Collection’s current exhibit, Morandi: Master of Modern Still Life. The exhibit features 60 works of art drawn primarily from collections in Italy, with key additions from collections in the U.S. The exhibition tells the story of an artist finding his voice: from early explorations of cubism, futurism, and metaphysical painting rarely found in American museums, to a stunning representation of mature work. It also includes landscapes, a rare self-portrait, and a selection of etchings on paper that reveal his exceptional mastery of the medium.
ABOUT THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION
The Phillips Collection offers an intimate encounter with one of the finest collections of impressionist and modern American and European art, with works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse, Pierre Bonnard, Paul Cezanne, Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee, Claude Monet, Honore Daumier, Georgia O’Keeffe, Arthur Dove, Mark Rothko, Milton Avery, Jacob Lawrence, and Richard Diebenkorn, among others. The Phillips Collection, America’s first museum of modern art, has an active collecting program and regularly organizes acclaimed special exhibitions, many of which travel nationally and internationally. The museum also produces award-winning and in-depth education programs for K-12 teachers and students, as well as for adults. Its Center for the Study of Modern Art explores new way of thinking about art and the nature of creativity, through artist visits, seminars, and classes. Since 1941, the museum has hosted concerts in its wood-paneled Music Room. The Phillips Collection is a private, non-government museum supported primarily by donations.
VISITOR INFORMATION
The Phillips Collection is located in the heart of Washington’s historic Dupont Circle neighborhood, at 1600 21st Street, NW, near the Dupont Circle Metro (Q Street exit). Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays until 8:30 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Mondays and New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
