George Underwood is a leading contemporary British artist who specialises in figurative surrealism. Working in oil, his paintings feature mythical characters drawn from an imagined past but given a thoroughly modern treatment.

George Underwood was born in 1947 and attended Beckenham Art School from 1963. George Underwood has worked at the cutting edge of British cultural life since the 1960s, enjoying a long and varied career within the UK's creative arts scene.

Initially, he was involved in the music business, where he was a contemporary of David Bowie, who remained a lifelong friend. A switch from music to art led to a career designing iconic album sleeves for international bands such as T.Rex, Procol Harum, and Mott The Hoople, as well as vintage Bowie LPs, including Hunky Dory, Space Oddity and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust.

George Underwood also worked on film posters for directors like Mike Leigh and created book covers, which helped turn horror novels into bestsellers.

Originally inspired by the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism, George Underwood has spent the past 50 years developing a distinctive painting style, which has given him an enviable position among British artists working in this genre - an opinion endorsed by fan and collector David Bowie:

‘I would put him among the top figurative painters coming out of the UK …there’s a sublime isolation surrounding his subjects that really touches the viewer, the figures being both heroic and vulnerable simultaneously’. David Bowie

Red Rag Gallery have these George Underwood paintings on display at our gallery in Bath.

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