S. George Phillips

"The lyrical idealistic mood, stitch-like textures, and two-dimensional patterns of Phillips' landscapes are reminiscent of the later work of his teacher, Daniel Garber."

Born in 1890, Samuel George Phillips studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts with William Merritt Chase, Daniel Garber, Cecilia Beaux, and Hugh Breckenridge. He earned his living primarily as an illustrator for magazines, including the Ladies Home Journal, Mc'Calls, Old Liberty Magazine, and Saturday Evening Post.

Best known for his portraits of prominent businessmen, academicians, physicians, and politicians, Phillips also painted landscape scenes from the Delaware River in Bucks County as well as Chadds Ford in Chester County.

Phillips exhibited frequently at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and also at the National Academy of Design in New York. He kept a painting studio in Center City Philadelphia for nearly fifty years, commuting daily from his home near Margate (Atlantic) City, New Jersey. He died in February in 1965 at the age of seventy-five. Phillip's painting, Delaware River View, was part of a large gift of 59 Bucks County Impressionist paintings donated to the Michener Art Museum by Marguerite and H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest in 1999. In total, the Museum has six paintings by Phillips in its collection, and five were part of the Lenfest gift.

Education and Training
Philadelphia Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA

Teachers and Influences
William Merritt Chase, Daniel Garber, Cecilia Beaux, and Hugh Breckenridge at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Connection to Bucks County
Even though Phillips did not reside in Bucks County, he painted landscape scenes of the Delaware Valley, often of the Point Pleasant area.

Artistic Community and Colleagues
Daniel Garber was one of his teachers at the Academy.

Affiliations and Memberships
Philadelphia Art Club

Major Group Exhibitions
National Academy of Design, New York, New York, 1912
Annual Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 1913, 1920-1924, 1932, 1937
The Painterly Voice: Bucks County's Fertile Ground, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA, 2011-2012
Permanent Installation, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA, 2015

Major Collections
Michener Art Museum
Medical College of Philadelphia
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts