The Phillips Collection — Attraction in Washington

They had some interesting art and I really appreciated the historic house. I'm not a fan of museums that you have to pay for, due to the creation of an inaccessible environment, and to have them charge to see an art exhibit about the current global refugee situation- with NO indication the profits were being sent to help those affected by the horrors in their home country/ the issues in the countries they are fleeing to- I feel as if they were exploiting these people for their own profit. I understand that many exhibits are difficult to see, and that the museum may need money, but this specific exhibit is not the way to make money, unless it is actually going to the people and situations depicted. Whether or not the exhibit contained this content, the museum is set up in such a way that you can't fully avoid the part you need to pay for, so they have tons of employees (maybe volunteers?) ushering the non-paying visitors to the free sections to reduce the amount of pay-exhibit seen. It would at least make me feel less guilty to not be a paying visitor if they completely closed off the floors you had to pay for, instead of walking in and then having an employee run over and tell me I'm not suppossed to be there, and here's some vague directions on how to get to the free part. Or maybe even put the Rothko Room in the designated free section- not within the charged section. The Rothko Room is listed as a free permanent exhibit, but is located deep within the charged section, making it uncomfortable to get to without paying. I heard about this museum and specifically it's Rothko Room on a screen while riding the DC metro months ago, and was excited to be able to see Rothko's paintings in person after studying them for so long. I planned a trip back to DC to see it. After wandering around the large but very sparse free area, I finally found the Rothko Room within the charged exhibit. I had two employees usher me through the charged exhibit (quickly, so I didn't see much) and I felt as if I were a burden in the free section of a museum I travelled six hours from college to see. It is extra ironic that this room is meant for meditation, and I was made to feel uncomfortable and nervous for existing in this space because I did not pay for this...

I visited The Phillips Collection today. I appreciate that the museum has an endowment, or some sort of income that enables curators to continue to purchase art and have special exhibits. However, I was primarily there for the permanent collection, as I have a special affinity for early-to-mid 20th century modern art.

I WAS SO DISAPPOINTED that the Rothko room, which was one of my main motivators to see the museum, was surrounded by The Warmth of Other Suns, a temporary, only-for-pay exhibit. It wasn't financially possible for me to pay to see the exhibit, and that's not mostly what I wanted to see anyway.

One docent quietly told me that I should just walk into the Mark Rothko room, and if anyone questioned my presence, proclaim that it IS part of the permanent collection and that I should be allowed to see it. And that's what I did, along with my oldest daughter. However, it shouldn't feel clandestine to visit what should be open for visitors to the permanent collection!! What is more: I was HORRIFIED that there was a piece from TWoOS in the Rothko room, and further horrified by the audio file that looped, loudly and relentlessly!!! SO WRONG ON SO MANY LEVELS. That room is supposed to be a "chapel"; a place of repose and contemplation. I can't tell you how tremendously disappointed I was in my highly-anticipated experience of the Rothko room.

Here I am, traveling from Arizona, in the DC area for two weeks, and I have told people far and wide that likely my most anticipated experience was the Rothko room at The Phillips Collection. And now I will tell and re-tell the story of how poorly the museum is set up, how awkward it makes it -- intentionally, I feel -- for free visitors, and what a deflating, disappointing, dissonant experience it ended up being.

I have been to countless museums that have a for-pay or extra-pay area for special exhibits. However, I've never been in a museum where the special exhibit is so integrated into the passageways of what should be public, and then we feel like we have to walk with eyes downcast, moving quickly, to access what we should be able to access. I don't know who planned that, but it is a truly horrible...

The vibes at The Phillips Collection were absolutely rancid. For starters, the text on the website and the tickets is supremely unwelcoming; it is dogmatic in its warnings against being late and made my boyfriend and I genuinely anxious that our entry would be denied since we were ~15 minutes late. The energy inside the building was roughly the same. The staff greeted you in a way that made it apparent that they were keeping an eye on you -- it almost made me feel like I was in trouble or like I had done something wrong. My boyfriend and I received multiple dirty looks from snooty, pretentious patrons obviously wondering why we were there, as if art, above all else, is not meant for everyone.

Our poor experience culminated in the Rothko Room, which was our entire purpose for visiting. We were the only two people in the room when we entered, and the staff member posted inside fixed his eyes on us immediately. It was not subtle whatsoever and when I made eye contact with him, he continued to stare! On the bright side, the Rothko paintings were absolutely stunning -- literally. I found myself staring, mouth agape at No. 6 Violet, Green and Red. We were in the room for no more than 10 minutes when we had circled back to the first painting we looked at, and stopped at it for a moment to read the plaque. Despite the fact that it was extremely apparent that we were in the middle of reading, a staff member interrupted us to ask us to "wrap it up" as there were other patrons who wanted to enter the room. This profound experience that I was sharing with the person I love lasted only 10 minutes before we were brusquely rushed out by a staff member. My partner and I walked away in incredulity and decided that the energy in the building was so awful that we needed to leave.

All that being said, the Rothko's themselves were absolutely worth it. If your reason for coming to The Phillips Collection is to see them, then I definitely recommend it. I also recommend, however, that you enter, head straight to the Rothko room, and leave...