| “Aviation was my first artistic love,” says William S. Phillips.The historical aviation subjects, I research; the contemporary and nostalgic subjects, I live.” At college he majored in criminology and he had been accepted into law school when four of his paintings were sold at an airport restaurant. That was all the incentive he needed to begin his career as a fine art painter. Bill Phillips is now the aviation artist of choice for many American heroes and the nostalgic landscape artist of choice for many collectors. When one sees his aviation pieces, thoughts are about the courageous individuals who risked their lives for our freedom. Phillips was commissioned by the Royal Jordanian Air Force, and developed sixteen major paintings, many of which now hang in the Royal Jordanian Air Force Museum in Amman. The Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum presented a one-man show of Phillips’ work in 1986; he is one of only a few artists to have been so honored. In 1988, Phillips was chosen to be a U.S. Navy combat artist. For his outstanding work, the artist was awarded the Navy’s Meritorious Public Service Award and the Air Force Sergeants Association’s Americanism Medal. |
