The Phillips Collection announces its exhibition schedule through Fall 2027, a lineup that explores art as an evolving conversation—across time, geographies, and communities. Bringing together pioneering figures of modernism, postwar abstraction, new media, and contemporary practice, the exhibitions reveal how artistic innovation emerges not in isolation, but through exchange, friendship, mentorship, and creative dialogue.
“We are thrilled to present a season that brings artistic exchange to life in vivid, unexpected ways,” says Vradenburg Director & CEO Jonathan P. Binstock. “Duncan Phillips believed ‘a gallery can be a meeting place of many minds,’ and this season reflects that ethos. We’re bringing together artists across disciplines, cultures, and generations, creating conversations that connect past and present. This is the Phillips at its best: bold, intimate, and alive with discovery.”
The spirit of connection is central in the upcoming exhibitions. Tomorrow the Sun Will Rise: 2026 Juried Invitational (August 1–September 20, 2026) showcases 48 artists living and working in the greater Washington, DC, region. Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea (October 24, 2026–January 24, 2027) examines the enduring friendship among Milton Avery, Adolph Gottlieb, and Mark Rothko. Beauford Delaney: So Much Love and Beauty (February 27–May 23, 2027) situates Delaney within the vibrant artistic circles of New York and Paris. Juan Sánchez: A Survey (June 26–September 12, 2027) is the first traveling retrospective of the acclaimed multimedia artist and foundational figure in Latinx art in the US, co-organized by The Phillips Collection and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Vuillard and the Theater (October 16, 2027–January 23, 2028) explores the deep and abiding ties between Édouard Vuillard and the Parisian stage, co-organized with the Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
“This will be an exciting season of exhibitions that opens up new perspectives on innovative voices in modern and contemporary art,” says Chief Curator Elsa Smithgall. “We look forward to welcoming guests to experience these thought-provoking exhibitions, including our latest edition of the Juried Invitational that will celebrate dynamic work by 48 artists in our vibrant local artistic community.”
Exhibitions (Through Fall 2027)
Exhibition dates and titles are subject to change. Additional exhibitions and special programs to be announced.
Tomorrow the Sun Will Rise: 2026 Juried Invitational
- August 1–September 20, 2026
- In keeping with its long-standing commitment to supporting the work of living artists in the Washington, DC, area, The Phillips Collection is proud to present a major exhibition showcasing 48 artists based in the greater DC region. The result of an open call that drew over 1,500 applications, the exhibition brings together an intergenerational group of artists who are grappling with the complexities of the contemporary world, while celebrating the beauty, resilience, and determination that inspires their ongoing creative practice.
- The exhibition is organized by The Phillips Collection.
Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea
- October 24, 2026–January 24, 2027
- The exhibition tells the story of the lifelong friendship between three towering figures in American art: Milton Avery (1885–1965), Adolph Gottlieb (1903–1974), and Mark Rothko (1903–1970), and highlights the inspiration they derived from summers in Gloucester, Massachusetts, on Cape Ann. Through approximately 90 paintings, drawings, prints, and watercolors from the 1920s to the 1960s, this exhibition will reflect for the first time the artistic exchange between these three artists, the experiences they shared, and the support that they provided to each other. Many works in this exhibition have never been on public view.
- This exhibition is organized by the Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester, Massachusetts, in partnership with The Phillips Collection.
Beauford Delaney: So Much Love and Beauty
- February 27–May 23, 2027
- Beauford Delaney’s work is singular to his humanist vision, his spirituality, and his ability to harness the expressive powers of color. Beauford Delaney: So Much Love and Beauty situates the artist (1901–1979) and his work in relation to critical moments of modernist abstraction from 1940s New York City to 1960s Paris and explores the meaningful relationships that nourished his career. The exhibition will feature the artist’s early New York street scenes, insightful portraiture, and radiant abstractions. By including works by Delaney’s inspirations, such as Claude Monet and Stuart Davis, as well as friends and contemporaries such as Lawrence Calcagno, Sam Francis, and Ed Clark, this exhibition celebrates the interconnected nature of postwar abstraction.
- This exhibition is organized by The Phillips Collection.
Charles Rumph: Where We Are
- April–July 2027
- This focused exhibition on DC-based photographer Charles Rumph (1932–2019) features a selection of his black-and-white and never-before-seen color photographs. Timed nearly 50 years after Rumph’s first museum show at the Phillips, this installation explores the photographer’s interest in capturing the play of geometry and light on distinct forms. Rumph’s photographs will be further explored within the context of the collection, which he frequently visited, and the American modernists he admired, including Arthur Dove, Georgia O’Keeffe, Paul Strand, Ansel Adams, and Brett Weston.
- This installation is organized by The Phillips Collection through a major gift from the Shirley Z. Johnson Trust and The Charles Rumph and Photograph Fund.
Feast for the Eyes: Celebrating Renoir at the Phillips
- June–October 2027
- This focused exhibition will bring together Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s most ambitious multi-figural paintings, Luncheon of the Boating Party (1880–81), a cornerstone of The Phillips Collection, and Bal du moulin de la Galette (1876), on loan from the Musée d’Orsay, Paris. Never before seen together in the United States, this exceptional reunion of two Impressionist masterworks invites us to explore a defining period in the artist’s development, as he created a sumptuous visual language of color and light that captured the vitality of modern life.
- This exhibition is organized by The Phillips Collection.
Juan Sánchez: A Survey
- June 26–September 12, 2027
- This survey will be the first traveling retrospective of Juan Sánchez (b. 1954, New York, New York), one of the founding figures of Latinx art in the United States. For over four decades, Sánchez has engaged with the socio-political struggles of the working class and Afro-Puerto Rican communities that shaped his upbringing, infusing his art with a profound and introspective spirituality. Organized around four narrative pillars—Autobiography, Community, Nation, and Utopia— the exhibition will feature 75 works, including paintings, works on paper, photography, and video, offering a comprehensive look at Sánchez’s powerful and thought-provoking art.
- This exhibition is co-organized by The Phillips Collection and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Vuillard and the Theater
- October 16, 2027–January 23, 2028
- Vuillard and the Theater is the first exhibition devoted exclusively to the deep and abiding ties between the art of Édouard Vuillard (1868–1940)—a central figure in the Nabi movement—and the diverse world of theater in Paris. As a spectator, director, and scenographer, Vuillard drew on all the possibilities that theater offered his painting, choreographing works as scenes and often casting his close relatives as protagonists. Comprising approximately 70 paintings and 30 works on paper, as well as theater programs and ephemera from the 1890s to the 1930s, this exhibition offers a fresh re-examination of Vuillard’s entire artistic oeuvre, demonstrating how theater influenced his unique form of modernism.
- This exhibition is co-organized by The Phillips Collection and the Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
Currently on View
Programming and Initiatives
- Phillips Music 2026–27 Season
- For more than 80 years, Phillips Music has presented an exceptional roster of performers in the intimate, art-filled setting of the museum’s Music Room. The 86th season is curated to complement the museum’s special exhibitions, reinforcing the connection between music and visual art. It explores the creative bonds that shape artistic lives, inspired by the friendships of Milton Avery, Adolph Gottlieb, and Mark Rothko, as well as the vibrant world of Beauford Delaney. The season also includes a special program in anticipation of the major retrospective of Juan Sánchez. Full season to be announced in July. Visit phillipscollection.org/music for more information.
- Phillips@THEARC
- Phillips@THEARC is The Phillips Collection’s workshop and gallery at the Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC) in Southeast DC. The museum is proud to introduce Art–Play–Practice, a new initiative at Phillips@THEARC designed as a fully immersive environment for play, creativity, and artistic experimentation. Launching in June 2026, the inaugural installation draws inspiration from Broad Cape (1972) by globally celebrated DC artist Sam Gilliam (1933–2022), inviting guests of all ages to engage with art in hands-on, imaginative ways.
- Phillips after 5
- On the first Thursday of every month from 5–8:30 pm, enjoy Phillips after 5, a lively mix of art, live music, gallery talks, films, interactive activities, craft cocktails, tastings, and more.
- Admission: $20. Members are admitted free to Phillips after 5; reservations are encouraged.
- Third Thursday and Pay-What-You-Wish
- On the third Thursday of each month, The Phillips Collection offers free extended hours from 5–8 pm for guests to explore the galleries and enjoy 15-minute Spotlight Talks from Phillips Educators focused on one artwork. The museum offers Pay-What-You-Wish admission from 4 pm–close every day.
Images: (L to R) Juan Sánchez, Lindo Rayos, Lindo Colores, 2003, Oil, mixed media collage on wood panel, 74 x 72 in., Courtesy of the artist and Hutchinson Modern & Contemporary, NYC; Beauford Delaney, Abstraction #12, 1963, Oil on canvas, 51 1/2 x 38 1/2 in., Knoxville Museum of Art, 2018 Delaney purchase, Photograph courtesy of Bruce Cole and the Knoxville Museum of Art © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator, Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY; Édouard Vuillard, Yvonne Printemps dans le canapé (Yvonne Printemps on Her Sofa), 1919–21, Distemper on cardboard affixed to canvas, 47 1/4 x 31 5/8 in., Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Museum purchase, Taber Art Fund, 2015.18
