Phil Hale Explained

Birth Place:Boston, Massachusetts
Known For:Portraiture, fine art, photography, drawing
Training:Apprenticed to Richard Berry
Movement:Figurative painting
Notable Works:Official portrait of Prime Minister Tony Blair (2007)
Patrons:Peter Hall, Adam Jones
Awards:Third Place BP Portrait Award (2000), Joint Second Place BP Portrait Award (2001)
Nationality:American
Website:http://philhalestudio.com

Philip Oliver Hale (born 1963)[1] is an American figurative painter who currently resides in London, England.

Early life and education

Hale was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1963. He is related to a number of American painters, including Ellen Day Hale, Lilian Westcott Hale, Philip Leslie Hale and Robert Beverly Hale. His mother and grandmother were also artists.[2]

Hale spent the formative years of his childhood in Nairobi, Kenya, where his parents were stationed for work.[3]

Early work

At age 16, Hale was apprenticed to American painter Rick Berry in Boston, where he lived for three years until migrating to the United Kingdom.

During this period, he illustrated a number of book covers for American novelist Stephen King, including published in 1987 and his gift edition of Insomnia.

Current work

Hale's current work focuses on figure as well, in depictions of slightly surreal scenes with strange characters performing various physical feats, usually in a confrontation of some sort.

In 2007, Hale was commissioned by the House of Commons to paint the official portrait of former UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair. The finished painting was unveiled in Westminster on April 23, 2008. Mr Blair sat for the portrait during his final months in office in 2007.[4] [5]

In 2014, Hale was recruited by G-Star RAW to produce their Spring/Summer ’14 campaign “The Challenge”. He created a series of photographic collages of a chess match between Chess World Champion Magnus Carlsen, and model Lily Cole.

In 2015, he exhibited 15 oil paintings and at 18 pencil drawings in an exhibition titled Life Wants to Live. The exhibition showed at Jonathan LeVine's Gallery in New York and was later published as a book.[6] [7]

He also recently formed the movie production company "unprofessional.com" with his son Callum Hale Thomson. It specialises in bespoke analogue filmmaking.

Hale's work is featured in major collections including the Palace of Westminster, National Portrait Gallery, Lord's Cricket Ground, Sony and Warner Bros.

Published works

Major works

Audio

Book covers

He was commissioned by Penguin Classics to paint new covers for new editions of six Joseph Conrad books, published in 2007: Heart of Darkness and The Congo Diary, Typhoon and Other Stories, Lord Jim, Under Western Eyes, The Nigger of the 'Narcissus' and Other Stories, Nostromo and The Secret Agent.

Comic Books

Covers

Interiors

Magazines

Covers

Interiors

Other published work

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp61493/philip-phil-oliver-hale?role=art National Portrait Gallery
  2. Web site: Phil Hale's Fragmented Reflections . 2024-03-28 . en.
  3. Web site: Phil Hale Widewalls . 2024-03-28 . www.widewalls.ch . en.
  4. News: Portrait of Blair as PM unveiled . . 2008-04-24 . 2008-05-12 .
  5. News: Brown . Mark . correspondent . arts . 2008-04-23 . New portrait of 'knackered' Blair to hang at Westminster . 2024-03-28 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  6. Web site: Phil Hale Life Wants to Live. 2021-12-10. Jonathan Levine Projects. en-US.
  7. Web site: Life Wants to Live Donald M. Grant Publisher, Inc. 2021-12-10. secure.grantbooks.com.

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