Duncan and Marjorie Phillips and America’s First Museum of Modern Art

This book is a great and interesting read! The author has meticulously researched the Phillipses and their collection, both within and beyond the historical context. In this manner the book celebrates the past and future too. . . . Dr. Carter-Birken brilliantly chose to focus on selected artists to provide the reader with a wide but focused range of the Phillips’ enthusiasms. Her chapters on the artists Pierre Bonnard, Arthur Dove, Georgia O’Keeffe, John Marin, Jacob Lawrence, and Mark Rothko not only give readers a great sense of the Phillips’ collection policies but are also replete with carefully crafted details and descriptions. The author’s own descriptions, interspersed with selected quotes from Duncan and Marjorie, are truly beautifully written.

Dr. Leslie Ross (Dominican University of California), journal 'Confluence', Vol. XXVIII, No. 1

Dr. Pamela Carter-Birken carries us behind the curtain of The Phillips Collection to reveal that this treasured museum is not only about the art that dons the walls but also the people who worked to make it both an experience and a home. Through her lively stories, Carter-Birken teaches us that The Phillips Collection has always been a collaborative labor of love, and grief, by an array of collectors, artists, and artist-employees. These include, but are most certainly not limited to, Duncan and his confidant, wife, and business partner, Marjorie [Acker] Phillips. The stories of the laborers who built and lived the mantra of The Phillips offer us a window to one hundred years of history, human connection, and the myriad of overlapping ways in which culture – American culture – emerges, persists, and evolves.

Dr Erika B. Seamon

Georgetown University

In her book, which coincides with the centenary of The Phillips Collection art museum, “independent scholar Pamela Carter-Birken reveals how the founders’ aims and personalities are sharpened in every room."

from 'Apollo – The International Art Magazine'

Dr. Carter-Birken is covering what might be a gap in the general landscape of books on museums and collections. The manuscript also gives the reader a bit to think about regarding Duncan Phillips’ theories about art making and viewing which is nice.

Dr Christopher Pastore

University of Pennsylvania