Isla graduated with a first class BA in Classics from the University of Cambridge in 2018. After university she spent a year in Japan, where she interned as a curatorial assistant at the Fukuoka Asian Arts Museum. Recently, Isla completed a History of Art MA with Distinction at Birkbeck College, University of London. She currently lives in London with her husband, siamese cats and baby.
Noguchi Shōhin: The First Female Imperial Household Artist in Japan
Noguchi Shōhin (野口 小蘋) (1847–1917) was a leading Japanese painter from the Edo (1603–1867) and Meiji eras (1868–1912). She was born in...
Isla Phillips-Ewen 14 January 2025
Lee Ufan—The Beauty of Emptiness
Lee Ufan is a Korean-born international artist, whose work is key to the Mono-ha movement. If you have ever been lucky enough to encounter a Lee...
Isla Phillips-Ewen 13 January 2025
Circus and Jazz of Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was a renowned French artist celebrated for his bold use of color. One of his lesser-known masterpieces, The Circus, is a...
Isla Phillips-Ewen 26 December 2024
The Poetry in Painting—Turner’s Ovid in Exile
This petite (9.5 x 12.5 cm, 3 3/4 x 4 in.) oil on canvas by J. M. W. Turner contains big things: big landscapes, big stories and big skies. It is an...
Isla Phillips-Ewen 18 December 2024
QUIZ: Test Your Knowledge About Women Artists
Isla Phillips-Ewen 16 November 2024
Masterpiece Story: Three Ladies Adorning a Term of Hymen by Joshua Reynolds
Three Ladies Adorning a Term of Hymen is a huge triple portrait of the Montgomery sisters by Sir Joshua Reynolds. It thematizes aristocratic marriage...
Isla Phillips-Ewen 10 November 2024
Thawan Duchanee: Paintings Are a Way of Expressing Feelings Without Any Explanation
Thawan Duchanee (1939–2014) was a painter, sculptor, and architect from Chiang Rai, northern Thailand. He is Thailand’s most celebrated...
Isla Phillips-Ewen 10 October 2024
Masterpiece Story: Madonna of Port Lligat by Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí’s The Madonna of Port Lligat is an image of Mary holding baby Jesus in her lap. Seems simple, but it has layers upon layers of...
Isla Phillips-Ewen 15 August 2024
Demystifying Cycladic Figurines
Cycladic figurines have a mythical aura. Their gleaming abstract forms speak of timeless beauty. But what actually are they? Why do they look like a...
Isla Phillips-Ewen 27 May 2024
Masterpiece Story: My Bed by Tracey Emin
My Bed is an iconic and seminal artwork by British artist Tracey Emin. It was created over 20 years ago and despite its age, it is still one of...
Isla Phillips-Ewen 19 May 2024
