International artist Tony Phillips

Almost four decades ago, Guyanese artist Tony Phillips created “The Builders”, the largest mural ever done in Guyana. The mural can still be seen in the dome of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (formerly Barclays Bank) in Water Street, Georgetown.

“The Builders” mural
In April 1973, Hugh McGregor Reid, the architect who was responsible for the renovation of Barclays Bank, offered Phillips the challenge of painting a mural on the dome of the bank. Reid conceived of having the dome’s surface covered with paintings that would hold viewers interest. The plan was to produce a mural that would celebrate ideas and persons that contributed to the development of the Guyanese nation.
Phillips accepted the challenge and immediately realized that scope of the work and the time-line were too much for one artist, so he immediately enlisted the assistance of his colleague Stanley Greaves.
The project was the largest of its kind to have ever been done in Guyana. It was also a sensitive one. There was the issue of navigating the sensitive matter of racial representation in a multicultural, multiracial, post-colonial society. Historians such as Bobby Moore and Vere T. Daly provided guidance with that part of the project.
“The Builders” mural depicts eight personalities who made seminal contributions to the development of the Guyanese society. According to Phillips, he and Greaves recognized that other personalities could have been represented; however, the final eight reflected the cultural and ethnic diversity that enriched Guyanese society. All the stakeholders were pleased with the choices.

The mural was done at time when Guyanese were demanding to know more about their own history. Stanley Greaves’ research on Cuffy revealed that Cuffy had maintained significant written correspondence with Governor Hoogenheim. Because of this fact, he decided not to depict Cuffy in the popular stereotypical manner of a man running around with broken chains around his wrists. Greaves was responsible for all the lettering used in the mural, which ensured stylistic harmony.
Growing up Guyanese
Tony Phillips was born in 1941, the last of four children. He grew up at 90 Duke Street, Kingston, considered an influential neighbourhood. His father, Eric, played soccer for British Guiana.
Phillips’ family and relatives were patrons of the arts, especially of local musicians. The birthday parties for his sisters Elma and Joan were important social events, and bands like Bert Rogers and his Aristocrats Orchestra would provide the music.
In addition to supporting local musicians, Phillips’ parents also supported local artisans such as masons and crochet knitters. His parents instilled in their four children respect for all Guyanese, thrift, and service to the community, especially to the less fortunate.
The muses directed Phillips to painting. He attended Queen’s College from 1950 to 1959. The art scene at Queen’s College was very dynamic at that time. Q.C. was Guyana’s artist colony. E.R. Burrowes and Basil Hinds were art masters there. Among Phillips’ colleagues at Queen’s was Michael Leila, whose ability with mixing colours and painting tones, and dexterity with the palette knife, made an indelible impression on Phillips.
Phillips excelled at art during his career at Queen’s College. As a result, he was permitted to sit the ‘O’ Level Art examination one year ahead of schedule. This meant that he was required to drop Art in the Fifth Form. E. R. Burrowes, who was art master at Queen’s College at that time, offered him another opportunity to continue with art by inviting him to join the Working People’s Art Class.
It was in this group that Phillips was exposed to oil painting. He also developed a long-lasting friendship with notable fellow Guyanese artist Stanley Greaves. The Working People’s Art Class (WPAC), originally known as the Working People’s Free Art Class, was developed by E. R. Burrowes to provide all Guyanese, not only the leisured classes, with an opportunity to participate in the plastic arts. Burrowes is remembered for encouraging tailors, blacksmiths, and tinsmiths to join the group and express their creativity as painters and sculptors. Among Phillip’s other contemporaries at WPAC were George Bowen and Marjorie Broodhagen.
Despite his love for art, it was clear to Phillips during his days at Q.C. that he was not expected to aspire to a career in art. As Phillips pointed out, “One did not go to Q.C. to become an artist, and the graphics art trade had not really developed, so I was not encouraged to continue fine art.”
According to the dominant ideology during the late 1950s, only idle and irresponsible Q.C. students aspired to careers as artists. The minimum expectation of a Q.C. boy was to get five subjects at G. C. E ‘O’ Levels and join the civil service or the commercial sector. The preferred route was to go on to university and return to be a leader in some sector of Guyanese society.
After leaving Queen’s College in 1958, Phillips went to work at the Royal Bank of Canada but remained committed to art. This interest was encouraged by Basil Hinds, one of his art masters at Queen’s College. By the mid-1960s, Hinds had established a reputation as a brilliant artist, sophisticated cultural critic, and pioneering jazz broadcaster. Hinds also became a cultural affairs officer with the United States Information Service (USIS) in Georgetown. He ensured that Phillips was invited to the regular exhibitions and film shows he organized at the USIS.
Phillips’ connections with Basil Hinds permitted him access to the important collection on art at the USIS library. This literature exposed Philips to the American pop art moment and the works of Jasper Johns, Jackson Pollock, and Andy Warhol.
In addition to highlighting American cultural expressions, the USIS also promoted Guyanese art and artists. Basil Hinds organized the first exhibition of Guyanese artists at the USIS in 1973. It was a joint exhibition of the works of Tony Phillips and Mark Steel, a Guyanese artist who was at that time living in Barbados. Steel’s medium was watercolours. Phillips’ medium was oils, and his works focused on Guyanese landscapes.
Phillips still considers that exhibition to have been one of his most successful shows. The show was declared open by Cicelene Baird, at that time a government minister. By 1973, Phillips had established his bona fides as one of Guyana’s talented young artists.
Maintaining his cultural connections
Phillips is extremely proud of the mural and states that he always feels honoured to have been asked to do it and to know that his painting is part of what is now one of the most important collections of Guyanese art in the world.
The artist also participated in other aspects of creative life in Guyana. He was actively involved in designing costume bands and floats for Mashramani celebrations. In this aspect of his life, he worked closely with Godfrey Chin. He also developed an interest in photography and worked closely with “Chick” Young.
In 1978, Phillips, his wife Schavana, and their two daughters migrated to Australia where they presently reside. He has had a successful career as a manager in the industrial paint and printing sectors and in the competitive markets across Australia and Southeast Asia. He is a graduate of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and has been a successful designer of art equipment and furniture.
In an interview with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine, the artist disclosed he is currently enjoying painting portraits and would like to become really accomplished in this area, developing a more relaxed technique.
“I will continue to paint large floral works as well as figurative subjects that grab my interest; like my painting, “The Imputation of Judas”’, which is a different take on what happened at the so-called “Last Supper”,” Phillips revealed.
Since 2000, Phillips has carved a niche as one of the leading painters of flowers in Australia. His artworks have attracted critical acclaim, and they are sought after by numerous collectors. Guyana continues to inspire Phillips, as seen in his many paintings.
Phillips’ story is also one about commitment to accuracy and the relentless pursuit of excellence. He has never given up his Guyanese roots. He was awarded a McAndrew Award by the Guyana Folk Festival Committee in 2003. Tony Phillips is a Guyanese cultural hero.
For more details on Tony Phillips’ work, please visit his website at aeroart2000.com and for more information on the mural, visit gbtibank.com and click on the ‘Community’ section. (Credit: Vibert Cambridge, PhD)