Birmingham celebrates ‘forgotten pop-art pioneer’ Peter Phillips

He was a pop art pioneer, but he ended up being one of his home city of Birmingham’s “most overlooked creative figures”.

But now Peter Philips, a “key figure” in the international pop art movement who died in June 2025, is to be celebrated with an exhibition to showcase his work.

Phillips ranked alongside artists including David Hockney, Pauline Boty, Peter Blake, and later Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.

The outdoor exhibition, Pop Goes Brum!, will reflect the artist’s “pioneering achievements” and also celebrate his deep‑rooted connection to Birmingham, said art historian and author Ruth Millington.

Although he lived and worked across London, New York, Zurich, and Australia his work was influenced by the city where he was born and he retained his “distinct Brummie humour,” she said.