Geoffrey Humphries British, b. 1945

The greatest figurative painter living and working in Venice today

Geoffrey Humphries is a renowned figurative painter living and working in Venice. He has established an international reputation as a master of painting, particularly portraiture in oils and watercolours. Humphries is as famous for his bravura sense of colour as he is for the sensual nuance of his line. His more recent forays into capturing Venice in watercolour have no equal - and indeed, bear comparison with Sargent and Turner.

Humphries was born in Amersham, England and attended the High Wycombe School of Art, the London College of Printing, and the Chelsea College of Art and Design. In 1963 he visited Italy for the first time, and took his degree from the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice, where he received his highest honours in 1974. After then studying in Rome and Florence, he moved to Venice in 1966, where he still lives and works today. His studio overlooking the Giudecca Canal is a well-known centre for music and the arts, where he runs courses on painting and life drawing.

A flamboyant figure in Venice for more that fifty years, Humphries’ legendary soirées provide a kaleidoscopic background for his paintings. His studio became the epicentre for a cast of remarkable characters from the late 20th century, from rock stars, royalty and writers to eminent Venetians, artists, opera singers, and musicians.