Philip Hughes studied Engineering at University of Cambridge before pursuing an earlier career in Information Technology. Largely self-taught as an artist, his work is centred on the structure of the land and the intervention of human activity, from ancient cultures to the present day. Hughes has spent decades walking the landscapes of the British Isles, tracing ancient tracks and sites. Drawing directly in the landscape remains the foundation of his practice, complemented by the use of maps, aerial imagery and archival research. Abstract works are developed continually in parallel with works from direct observation. In 2001–2002 Hughes undertook an extended visit to Antarctica following the award of the Artists and Writers in Antarctica Fellowship with the British Antarctic Survey and Arts Council England. He has since travelled widely in remote environments, including numerous visits to the deserts of central Australia. Hughes first exhibited publicly in 1990 at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, the beginning of a long series of exhibitions in museums and institutions internationally. These include Tate St Ives, Victoria and Albert Museum, Jerwood Gallery, Pier Arts Centre, Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, Salisbury Museum, Musée du Pays Châtillonnais, Memmo Arte Contemporanea, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, Museo Tamayo, Drill Hall Gallery, Canberra, Arts Centre Melbourne, European Space Agency, Charleston Trust, Seminario de Cultura Mexicana and Sidney Nolan Trust. Alongside these institutional exhibitions, Hughes has presented numerous solo exhibitions at commercial galleries and educational venues across the UK, France and Australia.
Four monographs on Hughes’ work have been published by Thames & Hudson, Patterns in the Landscape (1998), Philip Hughes tracks: walking the ancient landscapes of britain (2019), Painting the Ancient Land of Australia (2020) and Philip Hughes: Notebooks (2024), reflecting the central role of drawing, travel and sustained observation within his practice.
His work is held in a number of public collections including British Library, British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, the UK Government Art Collection, the Library of Congress and the National Gallery of Australia. He served on the Council of the Royal College of Art from 1987 to 1992, on the Board of the Design Museum from 1990 to 1996, and as Chairman of the Trustees of the National Gallery from 1996 to 2000.
| PHILIP HUGHES CV | ||
| SOLO EXHIBITONS | ||
| 2026 | BRINK, Richard Parr Associates, London | |
| 2025 | British Antartic Survey, Cambridge | |
| 2024 | Pier Arts Centre, Stromness, Scotland (also 2012,2008) | |
| FAIRE Magazine launch exhibition with Maison Victoire, Cabrieres-d Avignon, France | ||
| 2023 | Galerie Pascal Lainé, Ménerbes (also 2018, 2014, 2010, 2007) | |
| The Rodd, Sideny Nolan Trust, Presteigne | ||
| 2022 | Cabalva, Herefordshire | |
| 2021 | Painting the Ancient Land of Austrlaia – paintings and prints, London | |
| Galerie Mireille Cartet, Ménerbes | ||
| 2019 | Charleston, East Sussex | |
| 2018 | European Space Agency, Darmstadt, Germany | |
| Maison de la Truffe et du Vin, Ménerbes, France | ||
| The Perse, Cambridge | ||
| 2016 | Studio 3 Gallery, Jarman Building, Canterbury | |
| The Watermill Gallery, Aberfeldy (also 2012, 2005) | ||
| 2015 | University of Kent | |
| 2014 | Jerwood Gallery, Hastings | |
| 2012 | Brighton Museum & Art Gallery | |
| Cromarty Arts Trust, Scotland | ||
| Stirling University, Scotland | ||
| Salisbury Museum, Wiltshire | ||
| Francis Kyle Gallery, London (also 2010, 2007, 2003, 2000, | ||
| 1997, 1994, 1992, 1989, 1987, 1984, 1982, 1979) | ||
| 2011 | Galerie Gimpel & Müller, Paris — with Chris Drury et Nicolas de Staël | |
| 2008 | Drill Hall Gallery, Canberra, Australia | |
| Rex Irwin Gallery, Sydney, Australia (also 2005) | ||
| Charleston, East Sussex | ||
| 2007 | Maison de la Truffe et du Vin, Menerbes, France | |
| 2004 | Star Gallery, Lewes | |
| 2002 | Musée du Châtillonais, Châtillon-sur-Seine, France | |
| Drill Hall Gallery, Canberra, Australia | ||
| 2001 | The Victoria and Albert Museum, London | |
| University of Lecce, Memmo Gallery, Lecce, Italy | ||
| 2000 | The Tate Gallery, St Ives | |
| Artothèque, Vaucluse, France | ||
| 1999 | Volvo Gallery, Sydney, Australia | |
| The George Adams Gallery, Melbourne, Australia | ||
| 1998 | Lesley Craze Gallery, London | |
| Museo Rufino Tamayo, Mexico City, Mexico | ||
| Drill Hall Gallery, Canberra, Australia | ||
| 1997 | Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, MARCO, Monterrey, Mexico | |
| 1995 | L’Ambassade d’Australie, Paris | |
| 1993 | La Tour des Cardinaux, L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, France | |
| 1990 | Museum and Art Gallery, Inverness, Scotland | |
| 1985 | Galerie Cance Manguin, Ménerbes, France (also 1979) | |
| 1977 | Angela Flowers Gallery, London | |
| 1976 | Parkway Focus, London | |
| TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS | ||
| 2020 | Alquimia de los Planetas Alchemy of the Planets, Semenario de los Planetas, Mexico City (with Carmen Boullosa) | |
| 2018 | European Space Agency, Darmstadt, Germany (with Amy Petra Woodward) | |
| 2004 | Château la Nerthe, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Vaucluse, France (with Antoine Poncet) | |
| 2003 | Churchill College, Cambridge (with Keith Grant) | |
| 2002 | Sherman Galleries, Sydney, Australia (with Philip Wolfhagen) | |
| 1992 | Lesley Craze Gallery, London (with Francis Bendixson) | |
| 1976 | Francis Kyle Gallery, London (with Fay Godwin) | |
| 1972 | The Monks Gallery, Sussex (with Beryl Bainbridge) | |
| GROUP EXHIBITIONS | ||
| 2018 | Stromness Museum, Orkney, Scotland | |
| 2017 | Belgrave Gallery, St Ives | |
| 2015 | The Gallery, Arts University Bournemouth, Landscapes of Exploration | |
| 2014 | Lesley Craze Gallery, London (also 2004, 1994) | |
| 2013 | Francis Kyle Gallery, London (also 2013, 2011, 2006, 2003 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1991, 1988) | |
| Scott Polar Institute, Cambridge | ||
| 2012 | Peninsula Arts Gallery, Plymouth, Landscapes of Exploration | |
| Drill Hall Gallery ANU, Canberra, Australia, Antarctica | ||
| 2007 | Wallsworth Hall, Gloucester, Nature in Art | |
| 2006 | Edinburgh, Scotland, White Horizons: British Art from Antarctica, 1775-2006, | |
| 2001 | Djanogly Art Gallery, Nottingham, Trentside | |
| 2000 | Rex Irwin Gallery, Sydney, Australia (also 1999) | |
| The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA | ||
| 1999 | The Prince of Wales’s Institute of Architecture, London | |
| 1997 | Sotheby’s, London | |
| Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London | ||
| 1995 | John Jones Gallery, London | |
| 1994 | Royal Society of Arts, London | |
| 1993 | Lesley Craze Gallery, London | |
| 1992 | Beardsmore Gallery, London | |
| Galerie Jaquester, Paris | ||
| Art-Asia Convention, Hong Kong | ||
| 1991 | Sotheby’s, London | |
| Eddie Glastra Gallery, Sydney, Australia | ||
| 1988 | Mount House Gallery, Marlborough | |
| Camden Arts Centre, London | ||
| The London Group, Royal College of Art, London | ||
| 1986 | Museum and Art Gallery, Swindon | |
| 1985 | Royal Festival Hall, London | |
| 1983 | Pintura Britanica Contemporanea, Museo Municipal, Madrid | |
| Angela Flowers Gallery, London (also 1974) | ||
| 1982 | Seven Dials Gallery, London | |
| L’Hotel de Ville, Bonnieux, France | ||
| 1981 | La Roche Gallery, London | |
| Acme Gallery, London | ||
| 1976 | Thumb Gallery, London | |
| 1970-76 | Artists for Vietnam, London | |
| 1969 | Aldeburgh Festival | |
| PUBLICATIONS | ||
| 2024 | Philip Hughes / Notebooks, Thames & Hudson | |
| with foreword by Stephen Coppel and introduction by Kay Syrad | ||
| 2020 | Philip Hughes: Painting the Ancient Land of Australia, Thames & Hudson Australia | |
| with foreword by Glenn Murcutt, essay by Jonathan Meyer. | ||
| 2018 | The artist’s book Alchimia de los Planetas, Alchemy of the Planets, illustrations by Philip Hughes with Amy Petra Woodward; | |
| a series of poems by Carmen Boullosa, translated by Psiche Hughes, and published by the Old School Press, UK. | ||
| 2012 | Philip Hughes tracks: walking the ancient landscapes of britain (First edition) Thames & Hudson, | |
| with foreword by Kay Syrad. Paperback edition made available in 2019. | ||
| 2002 | Jump of the Manta Ray, artist’s book, a series of poems by Carmen Boullosa, translated by Psiche Hughes, | |
| and published by the Old School Press, UK. | ||
| 1998 | Patterns in the Landscape: The Notebooks of Philip Hughes, introduction by Glen Murcutt, published by Thames & Hudson. | |
| 1997 | Elysian Garden, artist’s book, poems by Carmen Boullosa, translated by Psiche Hughes illustrations by Philip Hughes, | |
| printed by Taller Magenta, Monterrey, Mexico. | ||
| COLLECTION | ||
| The British Library, London | ||
| The British Museum, London | ||
| The Victoria and Albert Museum, London | ||
| The UK Government Collection | ||
| Clare College, Cambridge | ||
| University of Stirling, Scotland | ||
| Musee du Chatillonais, Chatillon-sur-Seine, France | ||
| The National Gallery, Canberra, Australia | ||
| The City Library, New York, USA | ||
| Columbia University, New York, USA | ||
| The Library of Congress, Washington DC, USA | ||
| The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA | ||
| The University of Iowa, USA | ||
| The University of Georgia, USA | ||
| Washington University, St Louis, USA | ||
| British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge | ||
| Worcester College, Oxford | ||