Phillips as phoenix

The walls of the grand parlor and original bedrooms, home to some of Washington's most famous paintings, are repainted in delicate shades named Lulled Beige and Misty Mica. The trim of some rooms are a shimmering sand, better to complement Pierre Bonnard's pastels and Edgar Degas' dancers. The new oak floors shine with polish. Outside, the mansion's bricks have been replaced and repointed, and the hand-carved stonework repaired.

And finally, the priceless works of art that have made the Phillips Collection a popular destination for 90 years have been rehung.

Following a disastrous fire last September, the original 1897 Phillips home has been closed until this week, although two modern additions remained open to the public. To celebrate the grand house's reopening and its 90th anniversary, admission will be free at the museum Saturday and Sunday.

The fire started on the roof during a planned $1.5 million exterior renovation, causing water damage to 12 galleries and the office spaces. The renovation was hastily extended to include an additional $1 million for the interior.

Walking through the silent rooms Monday, Director Dorothy Kosinski described the early-morning fire. "Water was just coming down everywhere. Removing the paintings was a dicey job because you didn't want to trip up the firemen. The staff formed triage, and we had certain protocols already set up," she said.

The brigade, led by the art handlers and security staff, quickly moved the art to the adjoining buildings, which were unharmed by the fire.

The historic building became a museum in 1921 when Duncan Phillips, art collector and heir to a steel fortune, opened his boyhood home to the public with a display of 237 paintings from his private collection. Today, the Phillips Collection's holdings number nearly 3,000 works.

Kosinski says Phillips visitors usually look for three things: Renoir's "Luncheon of the Boating Party"; the Rothko Room, dedicated to the abstract artist; and Jacob Lawrence's "The Migration Series," canvases that tell the saga of the move of African Americans from the South to Northern cities.

Not all of the collection is back where visitors last saw it, and some masterworks have been rotated into storage, but the galleries are full. Phillips believed in combining American and European works as well as contemporary and impressionistic ones to set up conversations between them.

"The good news is that Duncan Phillips didn't say, 'Don't move that painting.' He wanted a dialogue," Kosinski said, showing how a Courbet has replaced a Degas above a fireplace mantle.

The stately Music Room has new adornments: two Picassos, four Georges Rouaults and two Nicolas de Staels. And one original gallery is now home to a monumental work by British icon Sir Howard Hodgkin, who had his first U.S. exhibition at the Phillips in 1984. "As Time Goes By" is two hand-painted etchings, composed of five prints each, that cover facing walls in the gallery.

The Hodgkin is a permanent gift from Luther W. Brady, a leading oncologist and arts patron, who pledged to donate the red print if the museum raised money to buy the companion blue print. A dozen people contributed to buy the second work in memory of Laughlin Phillips, the son of the founder and a former director himself, who died in January 2010 at age 85. Alice Phillips Swistel, a grandniece of Duncan Phillips, remains on the board.

There is some work yet to be done. A new entrance for visitors to the administration offices is under construction, along with a new waiting area. "There was a silver lining to the fire, if you can say that. I would have never put this project high on the list of priorities," Kosinski said. Because the walls were opened, the workers were able to do things like add WiFi to the rooms. The museum converted a hallway to a reading room with cabinets of letters between Phillips and artists such as Arthur Dove, Stuart Davis and Alfred Stieglitz.

The mansion's renovations have many echoes of the 1897 style that blend smoothly with the contemporary galleries. "The rooms look as good as they did when the house was [first] completed," a relieved and satisfied Kosinski said.