Resurrection, Then Reconnection

University Place artist Terry Bader never imagined that being would serendipitously reunite her with a special artifact from her father's life and a friend from her own past.

That artifact's reappearance could not be more timely or significant.

On Easter Sunday, Urban Grace Church in downtown Tacoma will unveil a painting on loan from Carol Wright, a member of the congregation. Done in oil on board in 1964, "The Crucifixion" is the work of William Arthur Phillips (1916-1989), an important Northwest artist and member of the exclusive Puget Sound Group of Northwest Painters and many other professional associations.

He was also Bader's father.

William "Bill" Phillips and his wife, Lorraine, now in her late 80s, and an acclaimed artist herself, developed a close friendship with Wright's parents, the Rev. Victor McKee, who served as pastor of Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Tacoma, and his wife Edith. The two men enjoyed long, philosophical conversations, but their families also spent time together just having fun.

"The Crucifixion" hung in the McKee home along with other paintings by the talented Phillips couple. The kids grew up, got busy with their own lives, and fell out of touch. Bader hasn't seen Wright, or that particular painting, for years.

One Thing Leads to Another

The magical sequence of events that reunited them began when Wright inherited the painting from her father and displayed it in her own home. She loved "The Crucifixion" but felt that its extraordinary beauty, depth of color, and emotional impact should touch more souls.

"I had it hanging on my wall and found myself gazing at it every day," Wright said. "I thought to myself, 'This should be appreciated by other people. This needs to be shared."

She decided to loan it to her church, Urban Grace. Since "The Crucifixion" had been done in a more abstract style than many of Bill Phillip's paintings, the question of which spouse actually painted it emerged. The arts committee wondered if it might have been painted by Lorraine Phillips instead.

Enter University Place Patch.

Bridget Howe, one of the arts committee coordinators for the church, remembered and its mention of her famous father.  Through this column, she contacted Bader, who confirmed "The Crucifixion" as being one of her father's earlier works.

"He was more often a realist," Bader said. "Dad was a very devout Christian and often painted portraits of people who looked like Jesus to him."

He also did other paintings with religious themes.

A multifaceted man

Phillip's life revolved around the arts. He left a legacy of paintings in private collections and the permanent collections of the Washington State History Museum and the Frye Art Museum. In 1991, the Frye produced a retrospective exhibit of 54 pieces of his work. Phillip's legacy also includes his widespread influence on other artists and art teachers. 

But that wasn't all. Phillips wrote and lectured. He composed music, was a choral director, actor, poet, arts activist, athlete, and teacher, heading the Arts Department for Tacoma Public Schools for 25 years. Many remember him as the art teacher at Wilson High School.

Wright remembers Phillips as both a deep man who pondered the meaning of life  and also the funny guy who taught the kids how to shoot out a candle flame using a rubber band, during a camping trip to Mount Rainier. On that same vacation, he hiked the Wonderland Trail in tennis shoes, carrying a backpack heavy with beef steaks.

A Special Easter

The Easter service at Urban Grace Church begins at 10:30 a.m., Sunday morning and will include an announcement about the painting, which "will hang in the upstairs lobby of the church, just outside the main sanctuary," according to Howe.

Those who view it will sense Phillip's faith and presence, still evoked by every brush stroke and rich shade of color. 

"We used to call him Michelangelo," Wright said, her voice soft with respect. She and Bader can celebrate Easter knowing the  "The Crucifixion," in its new home, will now bring the essence of a special man, and his faith, into the hearts of many.