Duncan Phillips pioneered the collection of American art. He did so at a time when most of the world was loathe to admit Americans could create or even appreciate art. From the 1920s until his death in 1966, he built not only one of the most celebrated publicly displayed collections, but also the foundation of a modern American art movement. He gave American artists, collectors, and critics a basis for self-assertion—and ultimately, self-determination.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that American art wouldn’t be thriving as it is had Duncan Phillips never been born.
So if ever a collection was begging for a retrospective, it would be the Phillips. Today that retrospective begins.
Made In The USA runs from March 1st to August 31st at the Phillips public gallery in Washington’s Dupont Circle. It features the cream of the Phillips collection of American art, created between 1850 and 1970, with more than 100 artists represented. Winslow Homer, Georgia O’Keefe, Alexander Calder, and Mark Rothko are just some of the masters on display. The works are curated thematically, with not a few obscure works by lesser known artists hung in concert with their more eminent contemporaries. This is no accident—Duncan Phillips made it his business during his lifetime to seek out emerging artists, particularly self-taught ones, and both his museum and this exhibition happily reflects that.
With more than a century of the evolution of American art available for review, a visitor to Made In The USA has a rare opportunity to absorb the infancy, growth, and maturity of a uniquely American movement. Of course, American art hardly ceased to flower in the seventies; indeed, many of us are convinced that millennial art, influenced and informed by the contraction of the global digital village, is among the most exciting ever created.
But that’s a retrospective for a later age. For now we honor and celebrate the art that Duncan himself honored and celebrated. Because without that, and without him, modern American art might be nothing but a contradiction in terms.
or relationships or the way we think and talk about sexuality. He just took a leap of faith and 
mindset that aren’t frightened or put off by differences. They seemed to adapt seamlessly to a new, inclusive military. Maybe the same will happen in the NFL.
There aren’t many left from the golden era (i.e., Depression-era) of Hollywood. And there aren’t many left from that first generation of child actors. In both categories, perhaps in every category, Little Miss Miracle stood alone.
service. She served as U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia, was part of the American delegation to the U.N., and was the first woman to hold the office of Chief of Protocol.
public eye, in adoration, in a very successful bid to ease minds and hearts in very uncertain times. She deserves a lot of thanks for that too.
know that it gets a lot of love back here stateside.
“Appropriate” might not apply to all art—probably not much public art.. and certainly not commissioned 
Robbin Island, who became president of South Africa.
On a cold January day, or any old day, you can reach out and find 
Artist/provocateur 
the formerly prosperous and beautiful nation of Zimbabwe into a third-world hellhole. The man has a Hitler mustache, for pete’s sake.
October…but not before he constructed a gaudy gold statue of himself (because why not?), and recorded a far-from-complimentary song about Mugabe and his iron-fisted rule. Then last week, he packed up his bag of tricks and went to Zimbabwe.
Dennis Rodman is looking to justify his ongoing, train-wreck-like 
We’re not only losing the stars of early rock and roll, that dwindling cadre of 1950s musical pioneers… we’re also losing, day by day, most of its fans. It’s been barely an average human lifetime since guitars were electrified, voices harmonized, blues and country and swing unified—into a new sonic style unlike anything heard before. But music has evolved enough, and rock and roll has moved on enough, that too many of us are forgetting, ignoring, its truly still-fresh roots. The first generation of listeners are dwindling too, as are the numbers of “golden oldie” radio and satellite stations. Tastes have irrevocably changed. There’s little room these days, on our playlists and, if we’re being honest, in our consciousness, for the doo-wop vocals and imprecise strumming that defined the fifties.
Happy New Year. Right about now, if you’re anything like me, you’re pondering the efficacy and desirability of new years’ resolutions. And if you’re anything like me, and you’ve dabbled in such things in the past, you’ve got a spotty history of success.
“Carbs,” he said. “Show me someone with a weight problem and I’ll show you someone who has a problem with carbs.”
A lot of jaws have been grinding trying to gnash out some deeper meaning in this sorry episode. Free-speech was an early contentious contender, until the Internet pointed out with pissy yet irrefutable logic that free speech never entered into the thing. Except perhaps in an exemplary way: Phil freely exercised his rights, just as the howlers on both sides, and the network, exercised theirs.
The other honorees are: playwright and novelist 
Joan Fontaine (Oct. 22 1917 – Dec. 15 2013) Oscar-winning Best Actress, who in fact was the only winner of the Best Actor or Best Actress award for any of Hitchcock’s films. She was glamor personified, and an extraordinary practitioner of her craft. She died peacefully in her sleep at home in Carmel, California on Sunday.
Tom Laughlin (Aug. 10 1931 – Dec. 12, 2013) Never has an actor been so thoroughly identified with a single role, without suffering the career debilitation of typecasting. Tom Laughlin was Billy Jack; he created that character, not just as an actor but also as screenwriter and director. In four films, from 1967 to 1977, Billy Jack delivered a message of self-determination that is just as relevant today as it was 40 years ago. Tom Laughlin died Thursday in Thousand Oaks, California, of complications from pneumonia.
Peter O’Toole (Aug. 2 1932 – Dec. 14 2013) Probably a child of Ireland, although O’Toole himself wasn’t sure where he was born (likely bets: County Galway, Ireland, or Leeds, Yorkshire). Not exactly physically imposing, he nonetheless personified Hollywood’s leading man. From his career-making role as Lawrence of Arabia, to his two incredible turns as Henry II (The Lion in Winter, and Becket), he inhabited every character he played. He continued doing so well into his twilight years. He died Saturday in London, after a long illness.
Ray Price (Jan. 12 1926 – Dec. 16 2013) Not one of the best known country music artists, but certainly one of the most influential. As understudy and confidante to Hank Williams, he helped create the honky-tonk genre of the fifties. A couple of decades later, he brought orchestral arrangement to C&W, birthing the Nashville Sound. Along the way he worked with, and was honored by, artists ranging from Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson. He died Monday at home in Mount Pleasant, Texas of pancreatic cancer.
