Philip Sutton

Overview

The influence of Matisse on the works of Philip Sutton (b.1928) is clear to see. Sutton has seen the other artist’s fluid use of colour and perspective, but carries it over into something wholly his own – his work exudes a positivity that sees him still active as ever in his nineties.

Phillip Sutton has dedicated great swathes of his life to honing his craft; from his earliest job in a drawing office where he would practice his own style in his lunchbreaks, to his time in Fiji in the 1960s from where he returned to a new and vibrant London that lapped us his bold tropical scenes.

 

Having exhibited widely in the decade prior (his first sale was to Peter Pears and Benjamin Britten in 1953), by the end of the Sixties Sutton’s reputation was far exceeding the boundaries of the art market with a steady stream of commissions, from big business to niche restaurants. He was made a Royal Academician in 1988. Philip Sutton’s energy is quite incredible – he opened a gallery space near his home in Dorset in December 2020, aged a cool ninety-two years young.