Phoenix Art Museum announces the reopening of The Ullman Center for the Art of Philip C. Curtis

Sep, 23, 2021

Exhibitions and Special InstallationsAmerican and Western American ArtCollectionsAmerican and Western American Art

Phoenix Art Museum announces the reopening of The Ullman Center for the Art of Philip C. Curtis

Gallery featuring work by the beloved Arizona-based artist to reopen in October in its original location

PHOENIX (September 21, 2021) –Phoenix Art Museum announces the reopening of The Ullman Center for the Art of Philip C. Curtis on the first floor of the Museum’s North Wing. The reinvigorated gallery will open on October 23, 2021 and is dedicated to featuring the works of Philip C. Curtis, the Arizona-based artist who founded the Phoenix Federal Art Center, the first iteration of Phoenix Art Museum. Beginning with Philip C. Curtis and the Landscapes of Arizona, rotating exhibitions in the gallery will continuously showcase paintings by the beloved artist in conversation with other works from across the Museum’s American art collection to foster greater understanding of and provide meaningful art-historical context to the Museum’s Curtis collection.

“Phoenix Art Museum is proud to re-open The Ullman Center to continue honoring the work of Philip C. Curtis,” said Mark Koenig, the Museum’s Interim Sybil Harrington Director and CEO. “The gallery will provide a unique opportunity for members of our community to discover more about one of our region’s most celebrated artists who played a crucial role in the Museum’s history. We are grateful to The Virginia M. Ullman Foundation and the Philip C. Curtis Charitable Trust for their support in reinvigorating this space.”

Originally created in 2001, just one year after the artist’s passing, The Ullman Center for the Art of Philip C. Curtis was designed to feature the works of Curtis while honoring his pivotal contribution in establishing Phoenix Art Museum. Beginning in 2017, the dedicated gallery was relocated to the second floor of the Museum’s North Wing to make space for a long-term loan of paintings from the London-based Schorr Collection. Since then, Curtis works have been on view continuously throughout the Museum, and this fall, the institution will re-open The Ullman Center in its original and permanent location on the first floor of the Museum’s North Wing.

Born in 1907 in Jackson, Michigan, Curtis began painting as a child after suffering a serious accident when he fell through the icy surface of a frozen lake. During his lengthy recovery period, he took comfort in sitting at his easel. Curtis eventually went on to study art at Albion College and, afterward, studied law at the University of Michigan before returning to art as a graduate student at Yale University. In 1937, President Roosevelt appointed Curtis to establish the Phoenix Federal Art Center, an early forerunner of Phoenix Art Museum, as part of the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project. In 1939, Curtis left Arizona to also establish the Des Moines Art Center in Iowa.

Following his service with the Office of Strategic Services in Washington, D.C., part of his war service during World War II, Curtis returned to Arizona in 1947 and began to work full-time as an artist. Once Phoenix Art Museum opened in 1959, Curtis maintained a close relationship with the Museum he had helped to establish until his death in 2000. Today, the Museum retains more than 100 works by Curtis in its collection, including many donated by the artist himself. His paintings of self-described “gentle surrealism” focus on themes of loneliness, isolation, and magical realism.

Beginning October 23, 2021, Museum visitors will have the opportunity to experience Philip C. Curtis and the Landscapes of Arizona, the first exhibition in the newly re-opened Ullman Center. Although Curtis was not traditionally identified as a landscape artist, the exhibition includes a number of the artist’s interpretations of western landscapes, which will be displayed alongside works by Lew Davis, Ed Mell, and others. In this context, the fantastical elements of Curtis’s work are amplified and starkly contrast the realism of other featured paintings, providing the chance to contemplate how differently artists of the same region may interpret and portray similar scenes and vistas.

“It will be wonderful to see Philip Curtis’ cherished works in a familiar space and in conversation with other works from the Museum’s American art collection,” said Betsy Fahlman, PhD, the Museum’s adjunct curator of American art. “Through this first exhibition and others, our community will gain a deeper understanding and learn about the richer context of the Museum’s Curtis collection, an opportunity and a gallery for which we are very grateful.”

The reopening of The Ullman Center for the Art of Philip C. Curtis is made possible through the generosity of The Virginia M. Ullman Foundation and the Philip C. Curtis Charitable Trust. For more information on The Ullman Center and Phoenix Art Museum, contact the Museum’s Communications Office at samantha.andreacchi@phxart.org or 602.257.2105.

About Phoenix Art Museum

Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.