[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 58 (Thursday, April 25, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S3024]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING GIFFORD PHILLIPS

 Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Madam President, today I wish to 
remember Gifford Phillips, who passed away on April 17 at the age of 
94. Over the course of a long life, Gifford was a truly great champion 
of the arts. He was also a friend to all who had the good fortune to 
know him. My wife Jill and I count ourselves among that very fortunate 
number.
  Gifford was born on June 30, 1918, in Chevy Chase, MD, into a 
prominent family. He began life with great advantages, but also with a 
great loss. His father, James Phillips, died that same year from the 
influenza epidemic when Gifford was just 4 months old.
  The Phillips family has long been a dedicated benefactor of the arts 
in our country. The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, was begun in 
1921 by Gifford's uncle, Duncan Phillips. Duncan founded the museum in 
memory of his brother, James, and their father, who had died in 1917. 
Mourning these profound losses, Duncan Phillips found solace in art. 
``Sorrow all but overwhelmed me,'' he later recalled. ``Then I turned 
to my love of painting for the will to live.''
  Gifford no doubt also learned these lessons well: that privilege 
without generosity is hollow, that life brings the pain of grief but 
also the joy of art. He lived his life in a way that reflected that 
understanding. In doing so, he was a credit to a renowned family, and 
he helped enrich the culture of our nation.
  His life as an art philanthropist began early, when he donated a 
painting by Cezanne to the Phillips Collection in memory of his father. 
Gifford and Joann, his wife of 60 years, were not just avid collectors 
of art but tireless advocates for art. Richard Diebenkorn. Mark Rothko. 
Claire Falkenstein--these are just a few of the contemporary artists 
they championed.
  Gifford was a successful businessman, but it was his passion for the 
arts and his political activism that seemed to most animate his life. 
As a patron of the arts and as a political activist, he wanted to share 
his advantages with others. And he had a great deal of fun along the 
way. He was a prominent supporter of George McGovern's Presidential 
campaign in 1972 and, to his delight, earned a place on President 
Nixon's enemies list.
  Like his Uncle Duncan, the words ``founded by'' often precede his 
name. Gifford founded Frontier magazine, a west coast political 
monthly, with editor Phil Kirby in 1949. He published it until 1966, 
when it merged with the Nation magazine. He was the founding chairman 
of the Contemporary Art Council at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art 
in 1961.
  In 1989, he and Joann began the Chamiza Foundation in Santa Fe to 
support Pueblo culture. The Chamiza Foundation was recognized by the 
New Mexico Legislature in 2009 for its efforts to sustain the cultural 
continuity of New Mexico's Pueblo tribes.
  Gifford Phillips will be remembered for his generous spirit, for his 
passion for the arts, for his commitment to social justice. Gifford 
found joy in art, in those lasting creations that inspire us, that move 
us, and that make us more fully human. He wanted others to share that 
joy, and it is his great legacy that people from all walks of life, for 
generations to come, will do so.
  Jill and I were proud to call Gifford Phillips a friend. We extend to 
Joann and the Phillips family our sincere condolences.

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