Biography of Gotz Doll Artist PHILIP HEATH

This article contains a brief biography of English doll artist PHILIP HEATH. Philip Heath was born in 1948 in Stoke on Trent, England.4 He studied at different art colleges and for fifteen years, he acted as the Head of Ceramics at a British Independent School.4 Per Götz, in 1985, Philip relinquished his position as a teacher in order to begin making dolls.4

Philip collaborated with Götz from catalog year 1992 to 1999. Together, Philip and his wife, Christine, share a daughter TARA HEATH, who has also designed for Götz. Sadly, Philip passed away in 2011 at the age of 62.

*Philip Heath's* Götz collection contains life-like vinyl reproductions of his original masterpieces.1 His vinyl dolls, with their life-like details and incredible quality, represent children from around the world.1

## His Inspiration

Philip Heath was inspired by children in their homelands from around the world. His innate ability and sensitivity to convey *how* these children both appeared and affected him during their time together is perhaps the foremost reason for why he is so personally beloved by his collectors.

## Artist Quotes

* *I want to make dolls which express their emotional quality, which is the reason that the portrait theme is particularly interesting to me.1,4 In studying each face carefully, I hope to make the finished doll "speak" and I try to recreate some of the enjoyment I experience during the initial sculpting...4*

* *I'm always trying so hard to make each portrait a complete statement about the child in question. I really want that when you see my finished sculpture in porcelain or vinyl, that you understand why I chose this child, what I saw in the expression, how he or she affected me!3*

## More About His Collection

Philip Heath's soft-bodied dolls have glass crystal eyes and kanekalon hair wigs.1 Each doll is marked with the insignia of the artist on its neck and/or upper back torso1 and some dolls are said to have originally come with a doll stand.2

Some dolls in Philip's collections are produced in pairs (example: NKIKE I and NKIKI II) showing these dolls in different "moments" of their life. The majority of Philip's dolls are limited **quantity** dolls; some dolls are produced in variation or are limited to one or "multiple" years of production.

## Doll Body Types

Philip's soft-bodied dolls are fully posable; they are made from high quality vinyl and feature soft, padded cloth lower torsos. Many of these dolls have bodies that contain internal armature; this armature allows the upper arms and hips to move and pose in limitless directions; many of these dolls have jointed (STRUNG) necks.

## Index of Götz Collections

The following tables contain indexes of Philip's Götz collection. Simply click on a doll's name (which contains a purple link) to learn more about that specific doll.

1992 YOROMONG (left) with AMI (right)1992 KIM (left) with TARA (right)1992 ALESSANDRA

1993 LEMA1993 JENNE1993 STEVEN (left) with FELICIA (right)

1994 KUMBA (left) with YANKUBA (right)1994 ASHANINCA I (left) with ASHANINCA II (right)1994 PRECIOUS II (left) and PRECIOUS I (right)1994 BILLY I (left) with BILLY II (right)

1995 JERTEH1995 JERTEH II1995 LISA I1995 LISA II1995 LUALABA I1995 LUALABA II

1996 MINDIYANA I1996 MINDIYANA II1996 NKIKE I1996 NKIKE II1996 LAUREN I1996 LAUREN II1996 NANCY I1996 NANCY II

1997 IRENE1997 TITI I1997 RAJ1997 PRINCE (right) & PAUPER (left)1997 TITI II1997 NANCY1997 PARA (left) with JAVARI (right)

1998 AARON I1998 AARON II1998 NANCY1998 PARA1998 JAVARI1998 IMRE II1998 IMRE I1998 LALA I1998 LALA II

1999 LAURA1999 ANGELICA1999 DESIREE1999 LUISA1999 SERAPHINA1999 WILL1999 JOSEPHINE

## Different Neckstamp Markings

Looking for a specific doll based upon its specific neckstamp marking? Simply click on a photo (must be in "full site" mode to click) to be redirected to a category containing all dolls that share it.

193-20 PSHPSH 189-20PSH 192-20PSH 263/20(?)PSH 443-24PSH Götz 388-26PSH GÖTZ 92 222-20/10PSH (under wig cap?) Götz 93 262/20
## Further Reading

The following books/sites, etc. provide excellent further reading:

1. *Doll Maker Philip Heath,* by Dawn Chase.
2. *Artist to Artist, An Interview with Philip Heath,* by Lewis Goldstein.
3. This website: http://www.philipheathdolls.com/ also contains some helpful information.

## References

1. This information can be found directly and/or indirectly from the 1992 Götz catalog.
2. This information can be found directly and/or indirectly from the 1993 Götz catalog.
3. This information can be found directly and/or indirectly from the 1997 Götz catalog.