Painter and printmaker Philip Needell was born in London in 1886. He took lessons in drawing at Regent Street Polytechnic and occasionally traveled to the coast of Southern England and  France to paint. In 1916 he joined the Royal Navy Reserve and served as Lead Signalman on an armed merchant cruiser in the Northern patrol, documenting his observations in sketches and paintings, several of which are held by the Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth.

Needell was a member of the Society of Graver-Painters from 1927 to 1936. Exhibitions include the ROI and Walker Art Gallery (Liverpool), and retrospectives were held at Galerie R Tuffer, Les Andelys, France in 1978 and 1982 and at Alexander Gallery, Bristol in 1979. His work is included in the collections of the British Museum and the Royal Naval Museum.

Needell died in London in 1974.