Instagram Facebook Twitter

On This Day

See what was on view for a given date at The Phillips Collection.

Gallery with paintings hanging on the wall with question marks covering the artwork

Since its inception, curators at The Phillips Collection have treated each gallery as a space to experiment with congenial spirits in the permanent collection. These experiments have been recorded since 1931 in the form of installation reports, providing a glimpse into their creative decisions. 

In 2025 The Phillips Collection Library and Archives digitized its collection of installation reports. We invite you to search for a day in history and see what was hanging across all open galleries on that day. We encourage you to draw comparisons to our current installations, explore how artist units have grown, or remember when you saw the installation in person. Select dates feature short narratives and additional archival items to create a snapshot in time at The Phillips Collection.

Select a date to see what was on view that day:

Only dates with records can be selected; the search engine will locate reports of all records from that day or reports of the nearest date. Additional dates are currently being added.

Building locations: Learn more about how the building has evolved over time. 

Reading the reports: Lists are arranged chronologically, then by building, gallery, and wall. It is assumed that works listed underneath each wall were hung from left to right, unless noted otherwise.