Picture just got rosier for D.C. art museum

Not every arts institution is hurting these days: The Phillips Collection announced Friday that it had received $23.5 million for its endowment in the last nine months, including two of the largest single gifts in the Washington, D.C., art museum’s history.

The Phillips endowment has hovered around $18 million, but dropped to approximately $14.5 million during the recent market downturn, according to the museum. With the latest donations, the endowment stands at $38 million.

The gifts include a grant of $10 million from the Sherman Fairchild Foundation and an anonymous gift of $8 million from a trustee, which are the museum’s two largest single gifts.

“This signals a new phase in Phillips’ history,” said board Chairman George Vradenburg. The Phillips of the future, he said, will be more involved in “the living art of today,” will explore younger artists and, it hopes, increase the numbers of younger patrons, and will develop more international partnerships. “We understand the integrity of our collection and will become more active in collecting,” he said.