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Tom Phillips ('Humument Self-Portrait at Fifty')

14 of 22 portraits by Tom Phillips

© DACS / Tom Phillips 2021

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Tom Phillips ('Humument Self-Portrait at Fifty')

by Tom Phillips
pen and ink and gouache over printed page, 1987
7 in. x 5 in. (178 mm x 127 mm)
Purchased, 1990
Primary Collection
NPG 6098

Sitterback to top

  • Tom Phillips (1937-2022), Artist, writer and composer; Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery. Sitter in 6 portraits, Artist or producer of 22 portraits.

Artistback to top

  • Tom Phillips (1937-2022), Artist, writer and composer; Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery. Artist or producer of 22 portraits, Sitter in 6 portraits.

This portraitback to top

This self-portrait relates to The Humument (first edition published 1975), the artist's 'treatment' of a Victorian novel, in which the printed page of the original writer's text is cannibalised and overlaid with illustrations.

Related worksback to top

  • NPG D18630: Tom Phillips ('Humument Self-Portrait at Fifty') (variant version)

Linked publicationsback to top

Events of 1987back to top

Current affairs

Hurricane-force winds batter southern England, blowing-down trees, and damaging buildings, blocking roads and causing 19 deaths. The storm was not predicted by the Met Office, a fact that is often jeeringly referred to by quoting Michael Fish's response to a report that 'there was a hurricane on the way…don't worry… there isn't' (the report was actually referring to Florida, not the UK).

Art and science

Alan Bennett's series of monologues Talking Heads is aired by the BBC. The series featured a set of characters that show the secret lives of the English: their dreams, frustrations, and fantasies. The impressive cast included Dame Thora Hird, Patricia Routledge, Maggie Smith, Julie Walters and Bennett himself.

International

The second largest ever one-day percentage decline in the stock market is named Black Monday. The Dow Jones index in the USA dropped dramatically followed by similar drops around the world. It is still unclear what exactly caused the crash, although worldwide panic selling certainly made it escalate.
Terry Waite is taken hostage while trying to negotiate the release of four men held by the Islamic Jihad in Beirut.

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