Isla graduated with a first class BA in Classics from the University of Cambridge in 2018. After university she spent a year in Japan, where she interned as a curatorial assistant at the Fukuoka Asian Arts Museum. Recently, Isla completed a History of Art MA with Distinction at Birkbeck College, University of London. She currently lives in London with her husband, siamese cats and baby.
Venus Vincit Omnia: Venus in Art
Venus (also known by her Greek name Aphrodite) is the goddess of love. We’ve explored some famous Venuses here. Furthermore, Velázquez’s...
Isla Phillips-Ewen 3 March 2025
Football in Art and Art in Football
The spheres of art history and football may not seem inherently connected. Yet, football holds a cherished place within culture, serving as both a...
Isla Phillips-Ewen 5 February 2025
Masterpiece Story: Fons Americanus by Kara Walker
Kara Elizabeth Walker, born in 1969, is an American contemporary artist. She is known as a painter, silhouettist, print-maker, installation artist,...
Isla Phillips-Ewen 2 February 2025
Noguchi Shōhin: The First Female Imperial Household Artist in Japan
Noguchi Shōhin (野口 小蘋) (1847–1917) was a leading Japanese painter from the Edo (1603–1867) and Meiji eras (1868–1912). She was born in...
Isla Phillips-Ewen 14 January 2025
Lee Ufan—The Beauty of Emptiness
Lee Ufan is a Korean-born international artist, whose work is key to the Mono-ha movement. If you have ever been lucky enough to encounter a Lee...
Isla Phillips-Ewen 13 January 2025
Circus and Jazz of Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was a renowned French artist celebrated for his bold use of color. One of his lesser-known masterpieces, The Circus, is a...
Isla Phillips-Ewen 26 December 2024
The Poetry in Painting—Turner’s Ovid in Exile
This petite (9.5 x 12.5 cm, 3 3/4 x 4 in.) oil on canvas by J. M. W. Turner contains big things: big landscapes, big stories and big skies. It is an...
Isla Phillips-Ewen 18 December 2024
QUIZ: Test Your Knowledge about Female Artists
Isla Phillips-Ewen 16 November 2024
Masterpiece Story: Three Ladies Adorning a Term of Hymen by Joshua Reynolds
Three Ladies Adorning a Term of Hymen is a huge triple portrait of the Montgomery sisters by Sir Joshua Reynolds. It thematizes aristocratic marriage...
Isla Phillips-Ewen 10 November 2024
Thawan Duchanee: Paintings Are a Way of Expressing Feelings Without Any Explanation
Thawan Duchanee (1939–2014) was a painter, sculptor, and architect from Chiang Rai, northern Thailand. He is Thailand’s most celebrated...
Isla Phillips-Ewen 10 October 2024
