In this newest exhibit at the Phillips Collection, the museum shows off 120 works acquired in the last decade, including work by 28 artists new to the Phillips. Director Jay Gates, along with Chief Curator Eliza Rathbone, explained at the press preview on Monday that these recent acquisitions continue the tradition of Founder Duncan Phillips, who expressly wished for the museum’s collection not to be stable or static, but for his successors to maintain the......

>> Yesterday we profiled Five Four, the hardest working all girl band in the city, with the cutest shoes, in a Three Stars piece. Tonight you can see those shoes up close and personal at DC9, $8. If that's not the dose of local music you were hoping for tonight, how about Meredith Bragg at the Black Cat, or Gist at Iota? >> Ever thought, I'd like to get a new perspective on Scientology. A......

As you might imagine, there's not a whole lot going on in the art world this week, and unlike the last holiday, even the Smithsonians close on Christmas Day. Nevertheless, we found a few exhibits for you to poke around this weekend. And if you're one of those last minute gift buyers and can't bear to wage war at the mall, don't forget our guide to art museum memberships for something a little more unique......

Living in the Nation's Capital, with so many free events going on year-round, it might seem silly to spend a princely sum of money for the privilege of becoming a Member of a local arts organization. But there are a number of good reasons to think about becoming a member -- maybe you're interested in a particular subject that's only shown at a pay-for museum, maybe you're an artist looking to grab a foothold in......

This week the big news is the appointment (PDF) of Dorothy Kosinski as the new Director of The Phillips Collection. She's currently the Senior Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the Dallas Musuem of Art, and comes with an impressive résumé that include extensive curating, acquisitions, and teaching experience. Kosinski will officially take over next spring, to replace retiring Director Jay Gates, just in time to take the reins on a five-year strategy the......

After a weekend full of concerts, there is not much to mention this week, for obvious, turkey-related reasons. Still, if you find yourself in town this week, there will be a few things to hear, although tickets may be hard to find. >> On Monday (November 19, 7:30 p.m.), French violinist Nicolas Dautricourt will be hosted by his country's embassy, La Maison Française. The attractive, all-modern program is bookended by the Poulenc and Debussy violin......

Your classical music schedule will be busy for the next two or three weeks, through Thanksgiving, and you have the chance to hear almost as much for free as you do buying tickets. BIG GUNS: >> Emmanuel Pahud is one of the leading flutists of the younger generation. He will be in Washington this week, beginning with a recital with his regular pianist collaborator, Eric Le Sage, at the Phillips Collection on Wednesday (November 7,......

Impressionism, one of the most popular and accessible art movements, continues with yet another show at the Phillips Collection — on the heels of American Impressionism, comes Impressionists by the Sea, an exploration of the rise of plein air painting and vacationing on the northern coast of France. Opening tomorrow, the exhibit features the major French Impressionists, along with some of their predecessors, to present a lush visual experience. The exhibit is a feast for......

>> Peabody Award-winning broadcaster Michael Lasser will be at the Phillips Collection tonight to give a lecture called "Songs from The Time of American Impressionism" -- think Irving Berlin and the like. The event, which is free with a $12 admission to the museum, coincides with regular Thursday later hours (until 8:30 p.m.) and the upcoming end date of the American Impressionism exhibit (Sept. 16), so consider this your reminder to check it out.......

As always with the end of summer, there have been slim pickings in the art world, and most galleries are banking on you using Labor Day weekend for one final trek to sunny beaches. We scrounged up a few options for those of you sticking around town, which you may want to consider using as a warm-up for next week, when the fall art season opens with a bang. >> G Fine Art is warming......

>> What's more fun than gathering your friends to go see your very own art on the wall of a gallery? The Wall Mountables community event kicks off this week, so we hope you've pulled that painting/photo/whatever out of the closet and prepared it for the limelight. The first installation date was last night, but you've still got tonight, 3 to 8 p.m., and tomorrow night, 3 to 6 p.m., to grab a space of......

>> SiteProjects DC, which we reviewed last month, is ongoing throughout the 14th Street NW stretch, with special events sporadically showing during its run. Since Tuesday, Kathryn Cornelius has been performing her Art Services (Waste) at venues along the corridor. Tonight find her at Hemphill Fine Art from 4:30 to 5 p.m., then at Gallery Plan B from 5 to 5:30 p.m. Tomorrow see the act at Adamson Gallery from 4:30 to 5 p.m., then......

Gifford Beal's On the Hudson at Newburgh was hidden beneath another painting for most of the 20th century. Really. Childe Hassam once told an interviewer, “I believe the thoroughfares of the great French metropolis are not one whit more interesting than the streets of New York.” And our painting is just as good, too!, he didn’t say, but he may as well have: Upon his return from study in Paris in 1889, Hassam, along with......

THURSDAY: >> Flashpoint puts a little twist on the gallery show with Anonymous III by WPA\C. The show will feature 100 works by established and emerging artists from the D.C. area, but every piece will remain anonymous until it's purchased by an art lover who will have to appreciate quality over a name brand. The gallery will hold a reception this evening to scope out the goods, but you won't be able to purchase anything......

FRIDAY: >> We told you all about the Buzzlife White Party at Five yesterday, so follow the link for more details. >> ArtOutlet presents its first ever Flash animation film festival, called Flick, at Warehouse. Tim Bracken opens the event with an alt-country set at 7 p.m., with screenings from selected artists beginning at 8. $5 suggested donation, also Saturday. SATURDAY: >> Like we mentioned in this week's music agenda, the artwork of Mingering Mike,......

If you've been complaining that Memorial Day weekend wiped out your wallet, D.C. art venues heard your pleas for something a little less draining on your finances. This weekend the city is chock full of free activities, from private gallery openings to neighborhood wide social events. Put on your walking shoes and check out the following: >> It's time again for the annual Dupont Kalorama Museum Walk Weekend. Held on the first full weekend in......

Summer is almost here, and that means it is almost time to roll up the carpets and send the Classical Music Agenda on vacation. So enjoy the music while you can. In particular, this is the last week to take in a performance of the best production from Washington National Opera this season, Janáček's Jenůfa. My review called this opera "essential viewing for anyone who cares about music drama." Performances remain only on Monday (May......

>> DC Arts Commission auditions for musicians who'd like to play outside metro stations start tonight, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Metro headquarters, 600 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC. >> Check out our Reader, Meet Author feature for a list of cup-runneth-over literary events for tonight. There's Colin Channer at Vertigo Books, Susan Vreeland at Phillips Collection, Christopher Hitchens at Politics and Prose, and Irvine Welsh at Wonderland. >> The Rock and Roll......

There are more ways to take in our local arts scene than strolling the quiet museums on a Saturday afternoon or gulping some free wine at a gallery reception. Checking out events and lectures around the city is a great way to get exposed to not only the current exhibitions, but new ideas and theories you might not come upon while browsing the canvases by yourself. >> Patrick Swayze probably won't be there to perform,......

MONDAY As a part of its ongoing “Face It: We Are Probably All Going To Die or at the Very Least, Suffer Immeasurably” Series, Politics and Prose kicks off the week with a visit from Stephen Flynn, author of The Edge of Disaster, which, apparently, we are teetering on (cf. “all going to die,” “suffer immeasurably”). Also: CSI: Miami is on tonight! 5015 Connecticut Avenue, NW, 7 p.m. TUESDAY The art of letter writing is......

Art galleries around the city are participating in ColorField.remix, a celebration of the Washington Color School movement of the 1960s. As part of this city-wide festival, The Phillips Collection is showing Lyrical Color: Morris Louis, Gene Davis, Kenneth Noland, and the Washington Color School, an exhibit highlighting six artists from the movement. The collection is tastefully mounted and the pieces are a visual feast. However, the exhibit is also somewhat limited in that there is......

>> Artists Virgil Marti and Pae White, whose new conceptual piece has recently been installed in the lobby of the Hirshhorn, will give a Meet the Artists talk in the museum's Ring Auditorium. [7th St. and Independence Ave. SW, Free, 7 p.m.] >> U Street neighborhood residents get the bait-and-switch from Mayor's office. Until a day ago, Mayor Fenty was scheduled to meet tonight. Now the Cardozo/Shaw Neighborhood Association will settle for Deputy Mayor Neil......

April is a huge month for visual art in D.C. Friday marks the beginning of the twofive-week-long Artomatic, while later this month we'll be treated to the first ever international art fair in the city with artDC, both of which we'll tell you more about as they come closer. You've got plenty to keep you busy in the meantime. Believe it or not, Paris and New York don't hold the monopoly on influential visual art......

>> Your major opening this weekend is brought to you by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The nearly 120 piece Saul Steinberg retrospective, Illuminations, features the artist's witty and deeply observant take on world events throughout his 60 year history with The New Yorker, as well as the many other sculpture, painting, and various artworks that get a little meta in their parsing of creative methods. DCist is going to check out the show this......

Things are a little slow this week in classical music, because of Easter and all that. There are still a few good things to be heard, but the list is shorter than normal. Besides, it's hard to tolerate being indoors when those trees are doing their whole pink thing. >> A concert we are going to have to miss is the most interesting of the week, a program by the 21st Century Consort called Games......

Let's see. What could possibly be going on in the arts this weekend? Hmm, oh right. DCist Exposed has been getting some love from the Post (did you check out last weekend's Sunday Source?), Washingtonian, and a whole slew of online sources. We just got back from hanging the show and, oh man, it looks great, so we hope you'll give it some love, too, tomorrow night at Warehouse, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Please forgive......

We always tell you where the free concerts are, but just because a concert is free does not mean that it will be good. This week, we are leading with the free concerts because they are so good. Other than the free stuff, there is so much to hear, we have selected a few options from what is less expensive, not sold out, and likely to be good. FREE, FREE, FREE: >> The Washington Bach......

The long, dark night of the Arts Agenda is almost over! Our fearless arts editor, DCist Heather, will return next week and restore confidence in our coverage of the arts. It has been an enjoyable task for me to fill in, but we are all relieved; let's face it. THURSDAY: >> If you have not seen The Société Anonyme: Modernism for America at the Phillips Collection, you have to do it by this Sunday. Read......

It's that time of the year again, when people make resolutions they do not plan on keeping. Join DCist in resolving to see more art in 2007, but let's mean it. You could get started this week. >> Studio Gallery will have an invitational show featuring artists from the greater D.C. metropolitan area (January 3 to 28). This will include Suzanne Quinlan, whose work is shown at right. Open Wednesdays to Sundays, 2108 R St.......

It falls to me to fill in for our peerless Arts Editor for the next few weeks. Don't worry: DCist Heather will be back soon! Being the end of December, there is not much for me to mention, since the whole city is being shuttered for Christmas. If I miss something, help me out in the comments section. >> Art Enables moved to a new location in NE and has been open for about a......