George Pol Georghiou

Collection/Media source: Cyprus Collection, Leventis Gallery
Text source: https://cypriaauctions.com/artist/pol-georghiou/
Media: Painting

He was self-taught and he never attended any art classes. He studied law in London, where he stayed for thirteen years. He returned to Cyprus in 1933 and worked as a lawyer.

From 1938 he abandoned the lawyer’s profession and devoted himself to painting. His artistic education which was based on his frequent visits to museums, galleries and exhibitions abroad, drove him to the development of a special and peculiar type of conjectural creation around contemporary Cypriot art.

His work has been presented in one-man exhibitions in Cyprus, in Greece and abroad: in 1950 at Black Hall in Oxford and at the British Council in Nicosia; in 1953 at Lefevre Gallery in London; in 1956 at Bernheim-Jeune in Paris; in 1956 at Apollinaire Gallery of Milan, the Stadt Casino in Basel, the National Museum Bezalel in Jerusalem and the Archaeological Museum in Nicosia; in 1960 at Zygos Gallery in Athens; in 1963 for one more time at the Archaeological Museum in Nicosia.

George Pol Georghiou has also taken part in several group exhibitions: in 1940 at the Art Exhibition for the Assistance of the Greek Navy at APOEL Athletic Club in Nicosia and in 1962 at the “Art in the Commonwealth Countries Today” exhibition at Commonwealth Institute in London.

Many exhibitions of his work were organized after his death: in 1982 at Gloria Gallery with the title “Georgiou, 10 years since his death” organized by Cultural Services of the Ministry of Education and Culture and Kyklos magazine; in 1987 at Famagusta Gate in Nicosia organized by the Friends Association of the Cyprus Museum. In 1999 Cultural Services of the Ministry of Education and Culture organized a retrospective exhibition of his work at the State Gallery of Contemporary Cypriot Art.

Part of his work is still missing in Famagusta after the invasion in 1974. His work can be found in many public collections in Cyprus: at the State Gallery of Contemporary Cypriot Art, the Archbishop Makarios III Foundation, the Culture Centre of Popular Bank and Leventis Foundation.
His work can be also seen in public collections in Greece at Rhodes Municipal Gallery, at Pierides Gallery and Themistocles Tsatsos’; in United Kingdom at Imperial War Museum, Winston Churchill collections, Sir Andrew and Lady Wright, the Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava and Mrs Lawrence Earl; in Holland at the collection of the Queen of Holland and in United States.

Bibliography: Greek painters, vol. 4, Melissa puplications, Athens, 1976; Tonia Georgiou-Loizou, Georgiou Pol. Georgios, His Life and Work, Ph. D., Athens University, 1991; Eleni Nikita, Georgios Pol. Georgiou, A pioneer painter of Cypriot modernism, State Gallery of Contemporary Cypriot Art, Nicosia 1999; Christos Savvidis-Trichas, Cypriot Artists, Chr. Andreou publications, Nicosia 1982-83; Chrysanthos Christou, Short History of Modern and Contemporary Art, Ministry of Education and Culture, Culture Services, Nicosia 2002; Eleni Nikita, Cypriot Artists, First generation, Culture Centre of Popular Bank, Nicosia 2002; Cypriot Artists, Diagoras publications, Nicosia 1987