Tom Phillips

Tom Phillips was born in London in 1937 and studied at St Catherine's College, Oxford, and the Camberwell School of Art (1961-3). His work was included in Young Contemporaries in 1964. His solo exhibitions include Tom Phillips, The Portrait Works, NPG, 1989-90 and Tom Phillips, Works and Texts, Royal Academy, London 1992. He became a Royal Academician in 1989. As well as being a painter, Phillips is a writer and composer. His publications include A Humument (1980) and his translation and illustrations of Dante's Inferno (1982). His opera Irma was first performed in 1973. His work is in several collections, including the British Museum, the Tate, MOMA New York and the National Gallery Australia.

Text © National Portrait Gallery, London