Tag Archives: Tom Phillips

New catalogue: the postcard collection of the artist Tom Phillips, part 2

by Bethany Goodman

NOTE: This post discusses themes of death and racism.

 

The artist Tom Phillips (1937-2022) pursued numerous interests throughout his lifetime, one of which was his extensive collection of photographic postcards. The Bodleian has acquired this collection, which ranges from the late 1890s into the 1960s, and it is now catalogued and available to readers at the Weston Library. Further background to this collection was covered in a previous post [part 1], which also highlighted the postcards’ often humorous nature.

However, the collection is intended to present a holistic view of our collective human nature, and human nature isn’t always so light-hearted. The postcards are as broad in scope as they are in number, encapsulating the events and trends of the wider world in which their subjects lived. This postcard, for example, seems innocuous enough until you turn it around and read the message, and the scene is retrospectively contextualised in a darker light.

Figure 1 MS. 19966/88

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

War is a pervasive theme within the collection, with numerous boxes dedicated to depictions of the service of both men and women. Its impact is also clearly seen, both through the box labelled ‘War Wounded’ and the individual stories which some postcards tell.

This postcard depicts Harold, and his wife Allie, shortly before the outbreak of World War I. Turning the card over, a bleak picture of the impact of war is immediately visible, as we learn of Harold’s death. The author dates this tragedy to 1914. However, it is likely that Harold Oxford actually died on the 10th August 1915, as the Dardanelles Campaign did not begin until February 1915. This image was likely originally taken for cheerful posterity, but, over the course of a few years, the impact of world events turned the postcard into a memorial instead.

Figure 2 MS. 19966/11

This postcard depicts a different Harold, serving as a leading aircraftsman in the RAF during World War II. Unfortunately, his postcard represents the majority within this collection, with little or no further information available to link the subjects to their personal stories. In the case of this Harold, we have little insight as to who he was, where he served, or if he survived the war.

Around 28 million military personnel died in World War I and World War II. Several hundred service men and women are depicted within this collection, therefore it is likely that many of them were killed during the same conflicts which their postcards were intended to commemorate.

Figure 3 MS. 19966/16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even without the presence of corresponding messages, the images of the postcards themselves often convey a damning reality, as is the case for the numerous examples of racism and othering portrayed within this collection.

Just over 15% of the boxes contain at least one instance of racist imagery. In most cases this is in the form of blackface. In one box, a racial slur is used, followed by postcards which depict people ‘dressed up’ as both a Ku Klux Klan member and Hitler. Amongst the images of new puppies, manicured gardens and proud shopkeepers, a parallel side of society emerges.

The starkness with which these attitudes and portrayals are represented is confronting.

Tom Phillips perhaps aimed to acknowledge this, as he compiled a collection which showcases the multi-faceted nature of the world we live in – both the good and the bad.

New catalogue: the postcard collection of the artist Tom Phillips, part 1

by Bethany Goodman

A collection of photographic postcards, supplemental to Tom Phillips’ primary archive, is now catalogued and available to readers at the Weston Library.

Tom Phillips (1937-2022) studied at St. Catherine’s College before undertaking a varied career, teaching art, including a stint as the Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford University; creating art, including portraits, tapestries, sculptures and art books; writing operas, such as Irma (1970); and serving on several committees for cultural bodies, including the British Museum.

Another personal passion, however, was his collection of photographic postcards. Phillips collected around 50,000 of them throughout a lifetime of scouring flea markets and collectors’ fairs, which the Bodleian has now acquired.

Tom Phillips authored a book on the subject, The Postcard Century (2000), and curated a National Portrait Gallery exhibition, We are the People (2004), but perhaps his view on the legacy of the format is best seen through the postcards themselves.

The collection has been maintained in the original order and categories which Tom Phillips himself arranged them in. The scope of content ranges across the whole spectrum of human life, from ‘Babies’ to ‘Workers’ to ‘Weddings’ to ‘Family Groups’ to ‘Funeral’. It stops off at expected places in-between, such as ‘Sport’, ‘Gardens’, ‘Toys’ and ‘Animals’, as well as the unexpected, with ‘Fantasy transport’ perhaps a highlight on that front.

Ranging from the late 1890s into the 1960s, the collection presents a rich visual resource for historians and researchers, while also showcasing one of our most ubiquitous human characteristics: a desire to be remembered.

What follows are a selection of some of the department’s favourite postcards, to offer an idea of the breadth (and humour) of the collection.

Figure 1 (Toys, MS. 19966/41)

 

Abigail Spokes –

‘When she’s out of oat milk’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 2 (Knitting, MS. 19966/88)

 

Amanda Sykes –

‘Waiting for someone to say “I like your outfit” so you can say “thanks I made it myself!”’

Figure 3 (Cats, Birds, Pets etc., MS. 19966/68)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bethany Goodman –

‘Typical weekend plans’

 

 

 

Figure 4 (Readers & Writers, MS. 19966/18)

 

 

Charlotte McKillop-Mash –

‘Oscar Wilde cosplay?’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 5 (Rural / Agriculture, MS. 19966/28)

Evie Morris – ‘Growing up, we didn’t have a farm but my dad wished we did and kept loads of crazy animals. I desperately wanted geese and one year we tried to hatch a dozen, and got one. I named her Sandy and loved her dearly until my parents gave her away. The look in this lady’s eye says she is suspicious that her fowl might also be taken away. She looks wise to the game, and mischievous’

Figure 6 (Cats, Birds, Pets etc., MS. 19966/68)

 

Francesca Miller –

‘The life of a cat owner – once again forced to stand because your cat has stolen your chair!’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 7 (Horse & Donkey, MS. 19966/14)

 

 

Hannah Jordan –

‘She is too small for that horse’

 

 

 

Figure 8 (Figures in a landscape, MS. 19966/46)

 

 

Marion Lowman –

‘Best foot forward’

 

 

 

Figure 9 (Dogs, MS. 19966/42)

 

 

Miranda Scarlata –

‘Nobody sent me the memo that we were wearing monochrome today! – said from the perspective of the dog’

May Day celebrations

by Bethany Goodman

Happy May Day to those who celebrate, and well done if you’re still awake from May-eve yesterday.

May Day has a rich history in Oxford, with Magdalen College Choir playing a particularly large part in the day’s proceedings if you’re dedicated enough to make it into town for the 6am start.

Celebrations have happened across the country for centuries, with standard festivities including the anointing of a May Queen, maypole dancing and Morris dancing.

The artist Tom Phillips had an abiding interest in photographic postcards, collecting around 50,000 of them from junk shops and flea markets and painstakingly categorising and sorting them by theme. This rich collection is now in the Bodleian (catalogue online soon) and one box, ‘Patriotic & Fete: May Queen’, presents a view of the enduring nostalgia of May Day. It especially captures the role of children in the celebrations, from a particularly young Queen (where is her Regent!), to a proud note highlighting the dedication of a group of children to their contribution in the festivities.

Figure 1 The May Queen (MS. 19966/73)

Figure 2 Maypole dancing (MS. 19966/73)

 

Tom Phillips archive

The archive of the English artist Tom Phillips is now open for research!

Tom Phillips (1937-) is an English painter, printmaker, illustrator, sculptor, translator, composer, librettist and set designer. He studied English literature at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford, and was taught by Frank Auerbach while studying at Camberwell School of Art from 1961 to 1963.

During his early career, Phillips taught art and art history at Ipswich, Bath and Wolverhampton art schools, where his students included the musician Brian Eno, and he also had early success as a working artist and composer, holding his first solo show in 1965. A notable portrait artist, one of his subjects is the former Bodley’s Librarian Reg Carr, while his portrait of the author Dame Iris Murdoch hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. Phillips’ other art works include tapestries for St. Catherine’s college, Oxford, sculpture for the Imperial War Museum, and commissions for churches, including both Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. His musical works include the opera Irma (1970) and translating and designing Otello for the English National Opera in 1998.

Mainly showcasing his work as a writer, curator and book illustrator, the Phillips archive also reflects his time spent as exhibitions committee chairman for the Royal Academy (1985-2007) and as a trustee at both the British Museum (1999-2006) and the National Portrait Gallery. He has been involved in various curatorial projects and the archive includes correspondence, notes and draft and proof catalogues for those exhibitions. In 2004 he curated the National Portrait Gallery exhibition We Are The People, based upon his collection of postcard portraits from the early 20th century, following his book on the subject, The Postcard Century (2000).

He was also chief curator for 1995s Africa: The Art of a Continent exhibition at the Royal Academy, at the time (and possibly still) the largest exhibition of African art ever mounted in the UK. The notebooks and draft essays in the archive also express his ongoing, deep interest in African art, and include his working papers for his book on African goldweights. Also prominent in the archive are the working papers for other books like Music In Art (1997); drafts of articles, lectures, reviews, and blogs on diverse artistic and musical topics; and his collection of small press publications (posters, pamphlets and other ephemera), some designed by Phillips, including his unpublished work Imaginary Postcards (1975).

Phillips is also a translator and book maker. His longest-running project is his treated version of W.H. Mallock’s novel  A Human Document (1892), which he has altered with drawing, painting and collage and published in various forms as  A Humument (1966-). His archive at the Bodleian is more notable, however, for his translated and illustrated version of Dante’s Inferno and papers relating to his work on the subsequent televised version, A TV Dante, (originally commissioned by Channel 4 in the UK and directed by Peter Greenaway). The archive also includes translations of the Anglo-Saxon poem ‘The Seafarer’.

The archive will be relevant to researchers interested in Tom Phillips himself, in modern British art history, in art-book making and, in the musical field, for the draft libretti for Otello, Magic Flute and Heart of Darkness.