1600 21st St at Q St NW; closest Metro stop is Dupont Circle. Tues-Wed 10am-5pm, Thurs 10am-8.30pm, Fri-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm. Admission $7.50. tel 202/387-2151,

The Phillips Collection , one of the country's most extensive assemblies of modern paintings, starts off with a variety of proto-modern artists such as El Greco and Turner, before hurrying via French Impressionism to the real heart of the show - hundreds of works by Picasso, Matisse, Kandinsky, Van Gogh, Rothko, O'Keeffe, Klee and many others. The building adds to the experience: part is displayed in the Phillips family's ornate 1890s mansion, the rest in a 1960s purpose-built gallery space, all of it recently renovated. Popular free concerts take place in the oak-paneled Music Room on Sundays (Sept-May 5pm); reserve in advance for free gallery tours on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2pm and free gallery talks on the first and third Thursdays of the month at 12.30pm.

Phillips Collection

• Phillips Collection

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