Isla Phillips-Ewen

Author

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.

Articles by Isla

Artist Stories

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

Quiz

QUIZ: Test Your Knowledge About Women Artists

Isla Phillips-Ewen 17 August 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Madonna of Port Lligat by Salvador Dalí

Salvador Dalí’s The Madonna of Port Lligat is an image of Mary holding baby Jesus in her lap. Seems simple, but it has layers upon layers of...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 15 August 2024

Fauvism

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 19 June 2024

Group of three figurines, Early Cycladic II, early spedos type, museum number K9, Badisches Landesmuseum, Karlsruhe, Germany. Detail. Ancient Art

Demystifying Cycladic Figurines

Cycladic figurines have a mythical aura. Their gleaming abstract forms speak of timeless beauty. But what actually are they? Why do they look like a...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 27 May 2024

Contemporary Art

Masterpiece Story: My Bed by Tracey Emin

My Bed is an iconic and seminal artwork by British artist Tracey Emin. It was created over 20 years ago and despite its age, it is still one of...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 19 May 2024

Sport

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 9 April 2024

Ancient Greece

Timeless Beauty: Ancient Greek Athletes in Art

The idea of timeless beauty is fascinating. Also, it’s a great concern for lovers of art history. Conceptions of beauty in Western art history...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 9 April 2024

Love Story

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 19 March 2024

Masterpiece Stories

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 4 February 2024