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Drain the Art Swamp

It’s not easy running an art museum: Trustees are tapped out, there’s pressure to keep admission accessible, and the boards are increasingly vocal. But when the Phillips Collection director decided to sell off a few works in order to commission some new ones, the art media showed their narrow-mindedness. Here’s what they got wrong.

Jonathan Binstock
To achieve their goal, Jonathan Binstock and his curators set out to commission new work for the museum, which began with a collection of 2,000 artworks acquired by Duncan and Marjorie Phillips a hundred years ago and has since grown to some 6,000. The hope is that significant works of art by recognized, well-established contemporary artists will bring in new audiences and help extend the unique philosophy and character of the Phillips Collection into the 21st century. Photo: Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan/Getty Images
Marion Maneker
November 25, 2025

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You have to feel for Jonathan Binstock, who joined the Phillips Collection two and a half years ago as part of a new generation of directors leading museums around the country. Like Sasha Suda, who was recently defenestrated from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Binstock was charged with making his institution more relevant—a vibrant part of its community. So, with the full support of his board, he authored a strategic plan for the Washington, D.C., museum—one that emphasized “intellectual humility and social purpose,” “stewardship,” and “accessibility,” not to mention “authenticity, connection, and strengthening civil society.”