For me colour is all about invention, having the freedom to choose from a
kaleidoscope of options rather than matching reality. I feel like a wild musician
running through an orchestra, playing any instrument I wish.
Philip Sutton RA
Philip Sutton studied under William Coldstream at the Slade School of Fine Art, London from 1948 to 1953.
He won the Summer Composition Prize and travelled to Spain, France and Italy on scholarships before returning to teach at the Slade School of Fine Art from 1954 to 1963.
Sutton’s first solo show was held at Roland, Browse and Delbanco in 1956, the year he was elected aMember of the London Group. This was followed by many solo exhibitions throughout the UK, including the Geoffrye Museum, London (1959), 'Retrospective' at Leeds City Art Gallery (1960), exhibitions in Newcastle, Bradford and Edinburgh in (1961) and at the Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield (1971). In 1977 the BBC Arena Programme made a film about his work and a retrospective exhibition of his work was held at the Royal Academy of Arts, London.
His first exhibition in Paris was held at Galerie Joel Salaun in 1988.
Sutton has travelled extensively in order to paint. In 1963 he went to Australia and Fiji, returning the following year with a large exhibition of tropical landscapes. In 1980 he returned to Australia to paint for four months, resulting in an exhibition of large paintings of the Great Barrier Reef which were exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1982. He has also painted in Cornwall, Ireland and Crete.
Philip Sutton RA, has received several commissions, including the design for two tapestries at West Dean College in 1984 and 1986, a London Transport Soho Poster, and a set of new stamps for the Post Office in 1987. In 1986 he became involved in painting ceramics and was commissioned by Pentagram to paint a wall of tiles at the Art Tile Factory, Stoke-on-Trent. An exhibition of his painted ceramics was held at Odette Gilbert Gallery, London in 1987.
In 1995 he began work on a series of paintings on William Shakespeare which continued for three years.
Sutton was elected a Royal Academician in 1988 and lives and works in Bridport
1942–45
Leaves school and works in the drawing office of the Norris Warming Company,Bloomsbury
1945–48
National Service at RAF Cosford, Shropshire and Berlin
1948–53
Slade School of Fine Art, London
1952
Wins Slade Summer Composition Prize
1953
Marries Heather Cooke at St Pancras Register Office, London
1953–54
Travel scholarships to Spain, France and Italy
1954–63
Teaches at Slade School of Fine Art, London
1955–58
Lives in Snape, Suffolk
1956
Elected Member of the London Group
First solo exhibition, Roland, Browse and Delbanco, London
1958
Returns to London
Roland, Browse and Delbanco, London
1959
Geffrye Museum, London
1960
Retrospective, City Art Gallery, Leeds
Roland, Browse and Delbanco, London
1962 Stone Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Lane Gallery, Bradford
57 Gallery, Edinburgh
Roland, Browse and Delbanco, London
1963
David Jones Gallery, Sydney
Gallery A, Melbourne
Roland, Browse and Delbanco, London
1963–64
Travels to Australia and Fiji
Heather makes the film Philip Sutton Working in Fiji
1965
Roland Browse and Delbanco, London
Private View book
1966
Curwen Gallery, London
1967
Roland, Browse and Delbanco, London
London Arts Gallery, Detroit
1969–79
Spends part of every year in Falmouth, Cornwall
1970
Park Square Gallery, Leeds
David Jones Gallery, Sydney
Art Centre, Folkstone
Arnolfini, Bristol
1971
Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield
Roland, Browse and Delbanco, London
Oxford Gallery, Oxford
1972
Battersea District Library, London
Studio Prints, London
Compendium Galleries, Birmingham
1973
Roland, Browse and Delbanco, London
David Jones Gallery, Sydney
Peterloo Gallery, Manchester
1974
J. P. Lehmans Gallery, London
1975
Roland, Browse and Delbanco, London
1977
Elected Associate Royal Academician
Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, London
BBC Arena film
1979
Tours Israel with a group of British artists
Designs poster and banner for Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
Browse and Darby, London
Festival Gallery, Bath
Beaux Arts, Bath
1980
Travels to Australia for four months
David Jones Gallery, Sydney
Margaret Fisher Gallery, London
1981
Browse and Darby, London
Bonython Art Gallery, Adelaide
1982
Royal Academy of Arts, London
Christopher Hull Gallery, London
Browse and Darby, London
Bury St Edmunds Gallery
Contemporanea Gallerie Fur Moderns Kunst, Germany
1983
Paints watercolours in Ireland
John Brinkley Fellows Exhibition, Norwich
1984
Designs tapestry for Shell
Browse and Darby, London
Beaux Arts, Bath
1985
Roland, Browse and Delbanco, London
Friends’ Room, Royal Academy of Arts, London
The Chapter House, Lichfield Cathedral
Designs logo for Investors in Industry (3i)
1986
Designs second tapestry for Shell
Designs wall of tiles for NMB Bank, Amsterdam
Cambridge Gallery, Cambridge
1987
Works on ceramics with Jean-Paul Landreau at the Fulham Pottery, London
Designs set of stamps for the Post Office
Odette Gilbert Gallery, London
Beaux Arts, Bath
1988
Elected Royal Academician
Designs ceramics for Royal Academy restaurant and shop
Travels to New Zealand
Galerie Joel Salaun, Paris
1989
Moves to Manorbier, South Pembrokeshire
Beaux Arts, Bath
1990
Works on ceramics with Jean-Paul Landreau in Wales
Paints watercolours in Italy
Fosse Gallery, Stow-on-the-Wold
1992
Royal Academy of Arts, London
Agnew’s, London
1993–94
Oriel Theatre, Clwyd, Mold, Cardiff, Swansea, Aberystwyth; Picton Castle, Pembrokeshire
1995
Tenby Museum and Art Gallery
1997
‘My Shakespeare’, Royal Academy of Arts, London
International Shakespeare Globe Centre, London
Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon
Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds
Berkeley Square Gallery, London
1998
Publication of Philip Sutton RA, His Family and His Friends
1999
Berkeley Square Gallery, London
2000
Fosse Gallery, Stow-on-the-Wold
2001
Piano Nobile Gallery, London
2002
Albany Gallery, Cardiff
2004
Gallery 27, London;
Gallery 11a, Leamington Spa
2005–6
Royal Academy of Arts, London;
The Art Gallery and Museum,The Royal Pump Rooms, Leamington Spa;
National Assembly Building, Cardiff
2006
Richmond Hill Gallery, London
2007
Richmond Hill Gallery, London
2008
Publication of Philip Sutton Life and Works
Richmond Hill Gallery, London
Gallery 27, Cork St., London
Cork Street Gallery, 28 Cork St., London
Dover Street Arts Club, London
2009
Richmond Hill Gallery, London
Cork Street Gallery, 28 Cork St., London
2010
Richmond Hill Gallery, London
Cork Street Gallery, 28 Cork St., London
2011 Richmond Hill Gallery, London
Cork Street Gallery, 28 Cork St., London
2012
Richmond Hill Gallery, London
2013
Richmond Hill Gallery, London
2014
Sladers Yard, West Bay
2015
Richmond Hill Gallery, London
2016
Richmond Hill Gallery, London
2017
Sladers Yard, West Bay
Public Collections
Arts Council of Great Britain, London
Atkinson Art Gallery, Southport
Burton-on-Trent Museum
Cecil Higgins Museum and Gallery, Bedford
City Art Gallery, Birmingham
City Art Gallery, Bradford
City Art Gallery, Leeds
Durban Museum and Art Gallery, South Africa
Hertford County Council
Kettering Art Gallery
Leeds Education Committee
Leicester City Art Gallery
Lincoln Art Committee
London Stock Exchange
Manchester City Art Gallery
Ministry of Works, London
National Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Royal Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum
Perth Art Gallery, Western Australia
Tate Britain, London
Tenby Museum and Art Gallery