One of the earliest participants in HAI’s program, Irene Phillips (1925-1997) is probably the most complex artist to present. Her work grew and evolved over time, reflecting her adventuresome, dynamic and confident personality. She used every medium made available to her, selected from a wide range of subjects as it fit her fancy and painted quickly and instinctively. In the early ‘80’s, she began drawing on small paper using pencil, pen and crayon. Her most frequent subjects were animals and pop icons.
By 1990, she was working on a larger scale in acrylic paint.
An unnamed Indian is mixed media creation of acrylic with an overlay of tissue paper, then painted again with acrylic. Domingo Deers is acrylic on paper, a painting of Irene’s former boyfriend. The untitled collage is 24 x 18 and incorporates construction paper over paper, painted with acrylics. Finally, the leopard is a 24 x 36 canvas.
After she painted the leopard, we found a drawing in the archive where it had been for about a decade before she painted the acrylic leopard. Irene had not seen the drawing during the interim. Irene moved to a group residence after 24 years in Pilgrim State Hospital. She enjoyed life. She visited her sister for holidays; she made some money from painting and she spent in grand style – ordering out her favorite foods, an unheard of activity in her residence. She paid fellow residents to go out and shop for her. As her niece said at her funeral, she was a true diva.
By 1990, she was working on a larger scale in acrylic paint.
An unnamed Indian is mixed media creation of acrylic with an overlay of tissue paper, then painted again with acrylic. Domingo Deers is acrylic on paper, a painting of Irene’s former boyfriend. The untitled collage is 24 x 18 and incorporates construction paper over paper, painted with acrylics. Finally, the leopard is a 24 x 36 canvas.
After she painted the leopard, we found a drawing in the archive where it had been for about a decade before she painted the acrylic leopard. Irene had not seen the drawing during the interim. Irene moved to a group residence after 24 years in Pilgrim State Hospital. She enjoyed life. She visited her sister for holidays; she made some money from painting and she spent in grand style – ordering out her favorite foods, an unheard of activity in her residence. She paid fellow residents to go out and shop for her. As her niece said at her funeral, she was a true diva.
 |
 |
||