All Stars: American Artists from The Phillips Collection

Since 1921, The Phillips Collection has championed American artistic creativity as the nation’s first museum of modern art. Founded by Duncan Phillips (1886–1966) in Washington, DC, the collection reflects the shared interests of Phillips and his artist wife, Marjorie—particularly in supporting independent-minded artists. This included collecting the work of living artists—especially those outside the mainstream—self-taught artists, artists of color, foreign-born artists, and naturalized Americans.

Phillips was a pioneer who saw diversity as the defining character of the nation’s art and celebrated its “fusion of various sensitivities.”

All Stars: American Artists from The Phillips Collection celebrates more than 140 years of artistic expression. The structure of the exhibition embodies the very nature of The Phillips Collection’s unique arrangements that have always disregarded chronology or shared nationality and geography. Duncan Phillips believed “art is a universal language” that allows us “to see as artists see” and, thus, experience the world with fresh vision.

This exhibition is organized collaboratively between The Phillips Collection and the Denver Art Museum.