Originally from the United Kingdom, Walter J. Phillips immigrated to Canada in 1913. Highly influenced by Japanese woodblock printing techniques, Phillips combined his art making process with the British Art and Crafts style.

In 1940, Phillips moved to Banff where he taught at the Institute of Technology and Art in Calgary and at the Banff School of Fine Arts, where he founded the visual arts program, for the next twenty years. In 1976, the Banff Centre established an internationally renowned art gallery that continues to bear his name.

Much of Phillips’ work illustrates the landscapes of Northwestern Ontario, Manitoba, and Alberta. His printmaking process would first begin with a graphite sketch, then a watercolour followed by a sketch to compose the woodcut, and then the creation of a final print.