The family moved to Washington, DC, in winter Duncan was close to his older brother, Jim; Jim postponed attending college for two years so that he and Duncan could attend Yale University together.
The brothers moved from DC to an apartment in New York in Duncan wrote extensively on art and published his first book, The Enchantment of Art , in Soon after, tragedy struck the Phillips family.
Major Duncan Phillips died suddenly in from a heart condition and James died from the flu epidemic in To cope with these stunning blows, Duncan turned to the restorative quality of art. It was originally called the Phillips Memorial Art Gallery, and opened it to the public in fall of As the collection grew, the family moved out of their Dupont Circle home to a new residence in , allowing the entire house to become a dedicated space for the museum.
Duncan and James Phillips with their father, Major D. Phillips, c Duncan Phillips and his older brother, James, in their rooms at Yale University. Duncan Phillips married painter Marjorie Acker in , shortly before the museum opened, and she became his partner in developing The Phillips Collection. After they were married, Marjorie painted almost every morning, ran the household, and served as Associate Director of the museum.
When Duncan died in , Marjorie became the museum director, continuing to develop close relationships with artists and the artistic community of DC.
