FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 6, 2015
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Online Press Room
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THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION ANNOUNCES TRANSFORMATIVE GIFTS
OF 20TH AND 21ST-CENTURY AMERICAN SCULPTORS’ DRAWINGS
Linda Lichtenberg Kaplan’s promised gift of 18 drawings reflects Duncan Phillips’s
philosophy of in-depth collecting and thoughtful engagement with both art and artist.
Washington, DC—The Phillips Collection’s Director Dorothy Kosinski announced today an exceptional
gift of 18 American sculptors’ drawings, promised by Phillips trustee and art collector Linda Lichtenberg
Kaplan.This exceptional gift showcases the museum’s commitment to building a carefully crafted, indepth collection—one that reflects founder Duncan Phillips’s vision and distinctive eye.
“These extraordinarily generous gifts enable us to extend Duncan Phillips’s legacy in meaningful ways,”
says Director Kosinski. “Through such outstanding works, we can strengthen the museum’s already
authoritative voice for modern and contemporary art, while also enriching our distinctive exhibition
narrative—one renowned for the visual conversations created between important American and
European artists. Linda’s gift has been promised at a pivotal time for the Phillips, as we prepare to
celebrate major milestones such as our Intersections Series 5th Anniversary this year, and our 100th
Anniversary in 2021. These important new works will serve as a valued symbol of confidence and
support as we renew our commitment to educate, entice and entertain diverse audiences for another
century. ”
The Linda Lichtenberg Kaplan Collection
With extraordinary vision and generosity, Linda
Lichtenberg Kaplan has promised the Phillips her
entire collection of 18 American sculptors’
drawings, works by modern masters such as Jay
DeFeo, Tony Smith, Whitfield Lovell, and Louise
Nevelson. These drawings are a major contribution
to the museum, including works by 12 artists not
currently represented in the permanent collection.
Of great importance for its variety in media and
artistic individuality, each of the works in Kaplan’s
collection is exceptional in its high quality.
David Smith, Untitled, 1959. Black egg ink on paper, 27 x 39 1/2
in. Gift of Linda Lichtenberg Kaplan, 2004. Art © Estate of David
Smith/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY.
Kaplan acquired her first American sculptor’s
drawing in 2000, David Smith’s Untitled (1959), a black egg ink work on paper. Smith, one of America’s
most important 20th-century sculptors, viewed drawing as an essential part of his artistic practice, a
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Page 2–The Linda Lichtenberg Kaplan Collection
creative stream in two dimensions that was connected to his three-dimensional work, yet also distinctly
separate from it. With this seminal acquisition, Kaplan set off in a new direction of collecting, seeking in
earnest drawings by American sculptors that were fully realized, finished ideas; she collected works that
held their place in an artist’s oeuvre as independent objects beyond the stricture of a preliminary
sketch. Since 2000, Kaplan’s refined collection of drawings has grown to 18 museum-quality works.
When collecting these works, Kaplan says she looked for only the most
superb examples . “My collection is small but uniform in quality—that is
what real collecting is all about,” Kaplan says. “I do not pretend to have the
insight and drive of Duncan Phillips,” she adds, “but I am his acolyte and, in
my way, I try to collect as he did. This gift is intended to enhance the
already outstanding collection of works on paper found within the
museum’s holdings. It gives me great pleasure to add to something that I
so admire and love.”
In 2004, Kaplan made an outright gift to The Phillips Collection of Smith’s
Untitled, a work that is the museum’s only drawing by this titan of 20thcentury sculpture. Two years later, she promised three additional
drawings—by Robert Arneson, Lee Bontecou, and Joel Shapiro—the first
works by these American masters to enter the collection. Today, she has
added new depth to the museum’s collection with the promise of her
Tony Smith, Untitled, c. 1934-36.
Collage and pencil on cardboard, 11
complete American sculptors’ drawings collection—this gift includes the
1/4 x 8 in. Promised gift of Linda
museum’s first examples by nine seminal artists, including Louise
Lichtenberg Kaplan, 2014. © 2015
Estate of Tony Smith / Artists Rights
Bourgeois, Jay DeFeo, José de Rivera, Theodore Roszak, Tony Smith, John
Society (ARS), New York
Storrs, and Fred Wilson. Kaplan’s gift also gives the museum its first
Alexander Archipenko drawing, as well as an ink drawing by William
Christenberry and a watercolor and pastel by Dorothy Dehner that add significantly to works already in
the permanent collection. Finally, a series of three Jae Ko drawings and a Whitfield Lovell charcoal from
his Card series add immeasurably to the museum’s recent acquisitions by these two contemporary
artists. Modern Vision: The Linda Lichtenberg Kaplan Collection, a special installation of all 18 works, will
be on view at the Phillips May 21 through Labor Day.
Jae Ko, Untitled (JKD#4), 2011; Untitled (JKD#10), 2014; Untitled (JKD #11), 2014. Calligraphic ink and glue, 12 x 18 in. Promised
gift of Linda Lichtenberg Kaplan, 2014. Image courtesy of Marsha Mateyka Gallery, Washington, DC
“Linda’s thoughtfully assembled collection of American sculptors’ drawings is consonant with museum
founder Duncan Phillips’s ideas about in-depth collecting and thoughtful engagement with both art and
artist, as well as a shared passion for drawing as a vehicle for artistic creativity,” says Kosinski. “Her
promised gifts by this diverse group of American artists give breadth and weight to the museum’s
overall collection of works on paper; but it also puts a wonderfully special emphasis on artists who,
although known primarily for their three-dimensional work, embrace drawing as an important part of
their practice.”
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Page 3–The Linda Lichtenberg Kaplan Collection
A Phillips supporter since 1986 and trustee since 2002, Kaplan is a dedicated champion of the arts in the
nation’s capital and around the country. Serving on the Phillip’s Art Committee, she uses her expert eye
to help ensure the personal touch of the collection. Kaplan is a collector of American art and for years
worked as a Board Certified Appraiser of Fine Arts (ASA, AAA), specializing in 20th-century American art.
She serves as President of the Lichtenberg Family Foundation, which supports fine arts, social issues,
and health care.
IMAGE GALLERY
High-resolution press images are available by request or by accessing the museum’s online Dropbox:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zareg5voygu4t72/AAAZZubdQ0ShPjR6RVYVzNTFa?dl=0
ABOUT THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION
The Phillips Collection is one of the world’s most distinguished collections of Impressionist and Modern
American and European art. Stressing the continuity between art of the past and present, it offers a
strikingly original and experimental approach to modern art by combining works of different
nationalities and periods in displays that change frequently. Artists represented in the collection include
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse, Pierre Bonnard, Paul Cézanne,
Pablo Picasso, Honoré Daumier, Georgia O’Keeffe, Mark Rothko, 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
internationally. The Intersections series features projects by contemporary artists, responding to art and
spaces in the museum. The Phillips also produces award-winning education programs for K–12 teachers
and students, as well as for adults. The museum’s Center for the Study of Modern Art explores new
ways of thinking about art and the nature of creativity, through artist visits and lectures, and provides a
forum for scholars through courses, postdoctoral fellowships, and internships. Since 1941, the museum
has hosted Sunday Concerts in its wood-paneled Music Room. The Phillips Collection is a private, nongovernment museum, supported primarily by donations.
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