How did American art collectors see European artists at the beginning of the 20th century? The answer is given by the exhibition “Degas to Matisse” showing at the Phillips Collecton in Washington, dedicated not only to the artists, but to two important collectors: Robert Tannahill and Duncan Phillips. With 50 pieces on show, the exhibition tells two stories: one about the evolution of Western art from Impressionism to the Avant-garde, the other an ongoing comparison and dialogue at a distance between the two art collectors. The work on show, from Manet to Picasso, Cèzanne to Modigliani, plays a part in underlining the important role that Tannahill, whose collection was joined to the Detroit Institute of Art, and Phillips, founder of the museum of the same name, have had in introducing European art into America with artists who at the time were largely unknown. Sculpture, painting and drawings recreate a sense of the atmosphere and attitude to art and culture during the first half of the century with continual historic references between the old and new world.

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