‌
Dear Readers,

Happy New Year! We start the year off in Washington D.C., South Beach, and Norwalk, Connecticut. The authors bring to light iconic architecture as well as exhibits housed in beloved museums.

Linda Cabasin writes about The Phillips Collection, an innovative museum just off of Dupont Circle in Washington D.C. Even though it celebrated its Centennial last year, The Phillips Collection has mounted important contemporary exhibits that speak to our times and keep its mission of displaying modern and contemporary art at the fore. Its outreach into the community, support of schools and teachers, and exhibitions of staff work are strong community builders. The Collection is home to two of the most cherished paintings in American history: Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boating Party” and “Degas’s Dancers at the Barre.” If you want to feel at home in the American art world, go to The Phillips Collection.

Corinna Lothar Metcalf highlights a new cultural institution: the Chinese-American Museum also in Washington D.C. The programming and exhibitions at this museum give insights into the history of the Chinese in America and the two countries’ relationship. The mission of this museum is to “advance the understanding, knowledge, and appreciation of the Chinese American experience, by highlighting the history, culture, spirit, and contributions of Chinese Americans to our nation.” Hopefully this museum will help to build bridges between the U.S. and China.

Paul Clemence highlights the efforts being made to restore South Beach, part of Miami Beach, to its original Art Deco splendor. This destination vacation-land is, in fact, a cultural icon in American architecture and design with its brightly colored Art Deco buildings that are distinctly American in style and history. Clemence captures the essence of these buildings by taking close-ups and capturing the details of the design that makes Art Deco in Miami unlike any other place in the world.

Victoria Larson had the opportunity to return to her roots in Norwalk, Connecticut where she visited the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion that has become a cultural cornerstone of the Norwalk community. Once a an industrial and maritime landscape filled with railroad tracks, hat factories and the oyster-fishing industry, Norwalk is emerging as a diverse community filled with cultural gems of which Lockwood-Mathews Mansion is a staple.

If you enjoy our newsletter and website, please share with friends, family and colleagues.

Thank you for reading and Happy New Year!

Victoria Larson
Celebrating 100 Years of The Phillips Collection in D.C.
By Linda Cabasin
America’s first museum dedicated to modern art, The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., continues to fulfill founder Duncan Phillips’s vision in 1921 for “an intimate museum combined with an experiment station.” A collection that began with 237 artworks has expanded to almost 6,000, but some things remain constant as the museum evolves for its next hundred years. Read on
The Chinese American Museum of Washington D.C.
By Corinna Lothar Metcalf
Washington D.C. may be a relatively small city, but its museum count continues to grow. The newest — still in a development stage — is the Chinese American Museum. Its development should be completed sometime this winter or early spring, but in the meantime, it is open three days a week and shows revolving exhibits. Read on
Restoring South Beach to its Original Cool – Art Deco Close-up
By Paul Clemence
South Beach, the southern tip of the sandbar that constitutes Miami Beach proper, has had many incarnations since becoming the largest area designated as a historic landmark in 1979 ( thanks to the passionate and tireless campaign by preservation activist Barbara Baer Capitman). Read on
Saving the Norwalk Mansion
By Victoria Larson
This was the outcry in 1961 when the City of Norwalk, Connecticut, threatened to raze Lockwood-Mathews Mansion, one of the first mansions to be built in the U.S. and, at 44,000 square feet, was only slightly smaller than the White House. The combined efforts of the Junior League of Stamford-Norwalk, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and a well-organized citizen group turned out to be just the solution to save Lockwood-Mathews Mansion from the bulldozer. Read on