Celebrating Cubism and Georges Braque at The Phillips Collection
It is not enough to make people see the object you paint. You must also make them touch it.—Georges Braque (1882–1963)
From June 8 through September 1, 2013, a special exhibition, Georges Braque and the Cubist Still Life, 1928–1945, will be on view at The Phillips Collection.
Starting in the 1920s, Duncan Phillips, founder of The Phillips Collection, helped to introduce Braque's paintings to a wider American audience through acquisitions and installations. In the 1930s, Braque’s art continually appeared in major international exhibitions and publications as his European and American supporters encouraged interest in his work.
Although Braque did not exhibit frequently during World War II, in 1943 he was honored with a special room of recent works at the Salon d’Automne in Paris.
In their focused subject of modest objects grouped on trays and washstands, some saw disengagement from current events; for others, the visual realm of the still lifes represented a space for creative freedom during tragic times, an escape into intimate and imaginary spaces.
The exhibition is co-organized by The Phillips Collection and the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, part of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis.
In conjunction with this exhibition, on Tuesday June 13 starting at 6:30 pm, the pioneers of Cubism and their relationship with art dealer Paul Rosenberg will be the subject of a lecture. Michael FitzGerald, professor of fine arts at Trinity College, focuses on the careers of Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso, discussing the transformation of the art world in Paris during the two decades following the end of World War I.
The Phillips Collection is located at 1600 21st Street, NW. Tel: 202.387.2151