After nearly 60 years, Philip Hicks is one of Britain’s most admired contemporary painters; his work, marked by bold colour and abstract arrangements of pastoral motifs, practically illustrates both modern Romanticism and British pop.

Hicks attended Chelsea School of Art and then honed his skills at the Royal Academy Schools. He is married to the sculptor Jill Tweed and both artists have passed on to their daughter, the wildlife portraitist Nicola Hicks, the priority of careful observation.

Since 1990 when Philip Hicks moved from London to Oxfordshire, joining Messum’s a few years later, he has worked in a mainly figurative manner. But in the 1970s and 80s his style was much more abstract. More recently he has concentrated on bringing together the two sides of his works,
forging a synthesis which has resulted in a new personal and very recognizable style. It allows him to deploy his subject matter with great freedom across the canvas, and his gift as a colourist, together with his love of paint, reveal themselves more strongly than ever.

Philip Hicks’ work has been widely appreciated with over thirty successful solo gallery shows here and abroad to his credit. He is past chairman and vice-President of the Artists’ General Benevolent Institution.

The exhibition at Messum's runs in conjunction with the launch of a new book by John Russell Taylor.