Born in 1947, George Underwood embarked on his artistic journey by enrolling at Beckenham Art School in 1963.
While at art school, George's fascination with music grew, eventually leading him to pursue a career in the music industry. Teaming up with his lifelong friend David Bowie, they released a record as The King Bees, and Underwood also ventured into a solo project under the name Calvin James.
However, feeling unsatisfied with the music scene, George returned to his roots in art and delved into design studios as an illustrator. Initially focusing on fantasy, horror, and science fiction book covers, he soon found himself in demand among his colleagues from the music world. This propelled him into a freelance career, where he notably created artwork for iconic albums such as T Rex's debut, David Bowie's "Hunky Dory," and "Ziggy Stardust," establishing himself as a prominent figure in album illustration.
In the early 1970s, George expanded his artistic repertoire by venturing into oil painting. Influenced by the Viennese School of Fantastic Realism, he drew inspiration from contemporary visionaries like Ernst Fuchs, Rudolph Hausner, and Eric Brauer, admiring their imaginative visions akin to Bruegel and Bosch.
Imagination is the cornerstone of George's artistry. Preferring to conjure up his subjects rather than rely on live models, he paints individuals inhabiting their own fantastical realms. George Underwood paintings are held in many private art collections. One of his notable art collectors, David Bowie, says: ‘George has, over the years, refined his work to the point where I would put him among the top figurative painters coming out of the UK right now. There’s a sublime isolation surrounding his subjects that really touches the viewer, the figures being both heroic and vulnerable simultaneously. There’s a timeless element in the choice of subject matter that overlaps with the mythical world of Odd Nerdrum, say. Now that a huge shift to painting is taking place, I would expect to see George’s name pushed further and further to the front’.