A Modern Vision: European Masterworks from The Phillips Collection

November 15, 2019–March 22, 2020
Baker/Rowland Galleries

A Modern Vision presents a selection of the most iconic works from The Phillips Collection, America’s first museum of modern art, which opened in Washington, DC, in 1921. The exhibition features 50 masterworks by towering figures of European modernism, including Edouard Manet, Gustave Caillebotte, Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Pierre Bonnard, Wassily Kandinsky, Amedeo Modigliani, and Pablo Picasso.

Ranging from the early nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century, the paintings in the exhibition reflect the vision and influence of collector Duncan Phillips (1886–1966), who viewed art as “a universal language” and brought together, in his words, “congenial spirits among the artists from different parts of the world and from different periods of time.”

The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities.


Collector Spotlight Podcast:
Peg Bradley and the Bradley Collection

Hear the story behind the Milwaukee Art Museum’s modern art collection and about the local visionary collector Peg Bradley (1894–1978), who helped shape our understanding of modern art. Produced by House of Who.


Audio Guide

Take a tour with the experts. Join Tanya Paul, Isabel and Alfred Bader Curator of European art, Milwaukee Art Museum, and Renee Maurer, Associate Curator, the Phillips Collection on a guided tour of the exhibition.

View Audio Guide Gallery »


Presenting Sponsor:
Leadership Sponsor: Wendy Sleight
Supporting Sponsor: Kenneth R. Treis Four-Four Foundation
Contributing Sponsor: Suzy B. Ettinger Foundation Sotheby’s
Thanks to the Museum Visionaries:Donna and Donald Baumgartner John and Murph Burke Sheldon and Marianne Lubar Joel and Caran Quadracci Sue and Bud Selig Jeff Yabuki and the Yabuki Family Foundation
Image:
  • Paul Cézanne, Ginger Pot with Pomegranate and Pears, 1893. Oil on canvas. 18 1/4 × 21 7/8 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC. Gift of Gifford Phillips in memory of his father, James Laughlin Phillips, 1939.
  • Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, Dancers at the Barre, ca. 1900. Oil on canvas. 51 1/4 × 38 1/2 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC. Acquired 1944.
  • Vincent van Gogh, Entrance to the Public Gardens in Arles, 1888. Oil on canvas. 28 1/2 × 35 3/4 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC. Acquired 1930