Tony Phillips as he was usually called attended Queen’s College where apart from academic studies he had two major pursuits, cricket and art. In the end art won. He was an enthusiastic student of ER Burrowes and became a member of the Young Contemporaries Group. This was formed by Burrowes in the mid 1950s after his return from his second British Council Award where he attended the St Martin’s School of Art in London. At the time a group of young British artists making headlines were referred to as the ‘young contemporaries’. Burrowes’ was composed of senior art students from QC and the Bishop’s High.
I met Tony during visits to Burrowes and saw that Tony had an open personality, always smiling, loved to make jokes, ready to laugh heartily and see the bright side of things. On leaving school he continued to paint landscapes following the tradition of the time set by senior artists, Burrowes and Moshett.
In 1973 he approached me about joining him in painting a mural in the dome of Barclays Bank, now the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI). His plan was to do landscapes of familiar locations. The configuration of the dome included windows so I suggested using figures in the pendentives – the spaces between windows. It was decided to use historic figures and the names were sent to two historians Bobby Moore and Vere T Daly who supported the idea. It was a pleasant partnership because Tony always kept an open mind, willing to listen to suggestions. The details of the venture are in his book, The Nation Builders, published in 2021 by Amazon. Recently it was brought to our attention that the administration of GBTI decided to have the background of each figure painted out. This was without informing Phillips or myself, a totally disrespectful act to the mural as well as both of us.
After the completion of the project, he left Guyana in 1978 with his wife Shivana to settle in Australia where he graduated with a BA degree in Fine Art. We lost touch for a while but the advent of email made it possible to continue our friendship. Tony increased the range of his themes to include figurations and still-life compositions on a larger scale than his work in Guyana.
It was good as well to see the development of his technical skills. Burrowes would have been very pleased indeed. It was good to see that he eventually did gain recognition as an artist and I was not surprised to learn that he was playing in a steel band and enjoying it. This was in accord with his love of life.
There was one painting that Tony felt very proud about. It was a large composition titled “The Imputation of Judas” where all the figures were in traditional costume. This theme surprised me because we had never discussed religion in our correspondence. My only conclusion was that the painting resonated with some aspect of his personal development and should be respected.
It was disturbing later on to hear from him that he had developed cancer and was being treated. It is typical of Tony that he donated a painting to be sold and the proceeds to go towards cancer research. There was nothing negative or worrying conveyed in the letters that followed about the outcome of his treatment. As time went on his condition returned and there was no chance of remission. Tony accepted his condition with equanimity in the certain knowledge that his time in this dimension would soon be over. His life in the preceding years had allowed him to follow his aspiration to be recognised as an artist.
Tony had a very open, pleasant personality and love of life which never left him even as the end approached. Because of this I was not surprised to learn from Shivana that he died peacefully. I would now like to offer my condolences to her and daughters Cindy, Stephanie and Tonianne. Eric Anthony “Tony” Phillips died on the 23rd of December 2023. He will be remembered by all who knew him. May His Soul Rest In Peace.
