The Art of William S. Phillips: The Glory of Flight

I have been an aviation buff for much of my life. Planes have always fascinated me to the point where I took up flying in 1975, eventually bought my own plane and have always been on the lookout for books on aviation, both fiction and non-fiction. In my "golden years," I have now hung up my headset, but planes are still in my blood and I spend much of my time volunteering at two air museums in the different parts of the country where I live. In Maine I can be found on many summer and fall weekends volunteering at the Owls Head Transportation Museum and in Tucson, Arizona I am a docent and Tram driver at the Pima Air and Space Museum, the largest privately funded air museum in the country. It was Tucson that led me to Bill Phillips. We received a flyer from a local gallery indicating that he would be showing some of his aviation art and would be present to meet people on a particular weekend. We have large blowups of some of his US Postage stamps at the museum, but I did not appreciate the depth and diversity of his artistic effors until seeing the exhibition and meeting him. As personable as he is, it is the sheer force of his talent that is awe inspiring and it is well captured in this first of two books that have been published concerning his art. Edward Parks has captured the story shown in the various art works that dominate this extremely well done book and it also gives some insight into the man with the brush and palate. In painting many flying scenes of all kinds, Phillips captures much more than just the visual of the airplane. He evokes feelings and memories and often what it feels like to be a part of a dimension that not everyone can experience. This particular book is quite new on the table next to my easy chair, but I dare say that given time, it will be a well worn and well read friend.

Edward Parks has done a masterful job of interpreting the art of Bill Phillips. Mr. Parks was a fighter pilot (P-39's) in New Guinea at the start of WWII and after the war became a nationally recognized writer for the National Geographic and later, for the Smithsonian Institute. His first hand knowledge of flying combined with an incredible gift for prose makes "The Glory of Flight" a perfect match between artist and writer. Bill Phillips is undoubtedly America's premier aviation artist. His ability to capture the experience of seeing the world from aloft is truly inspiring. "The Glory of Flight" is a must for any aviation enthusiast. The title says it all!

Bill Phillips is a superb landscape artist who captures aircraft in moments of aviation history on the richest backgrounds imaginable. I was priviledged to attend his showing of major works in the National Air & Space Museum in September, 1987; and have been an avid collector since

No one paints aviation sunsets like this man! Classic aircraft, biplanes, WW II fighters all the way to rocket planes. A great collection from the same artist who brought you the July '97 classic aircraft postage stamp collection. Bill Phillips' work is entertaining for the aviation enthusiast/perfectionist, as well as being satisfying fine art. Painting is his calling and he is faithful with his gift. The text stops short of explaining some of the most significant, and encouraging, aspects of Bill's biography.Closely examine his signature and you'll discover the driving force that sustains Bill and his work. This is a wonderful book that would have rated a 10 if the art was not split across the page gutters. As is the price is right, but I'd gladly have paid another $20 to have a larger book with the images on one page. It violates every user-friendly layout rule of coffee table art books- but this is NOT the fault of the artist! Don't get me wrong, I'm still happy to have this book. But it could have been even better. J. Campbell Martin