Biography

London-based Humphrey Ocean was born in Sussex in 1951 and studied at art schools in Tunbridge Wells, Brighton and Canterbury. From 1971 to 73 he was bass player with 'Kilburn and the High Roads'. In 1982 he won the Imperial Tobacco Portrait Award and went on to establish himself as a leading portrait painter, depicting his sitters in a post-pop-art style. More recently he has used his figurative approach to explore the past and present, undertaking a commission in 1999 to paint a picture of modern maritime Britain for the National Maritime Museum and working as artist in residence at Dulwich Picture Gallery in 2002. He was elected a Royal Academician in 2004.