George Owen Wynne Apperley

George Owen Wynne Apperley (Ventnor, Isle of Wight, England, June 17, 1884 - Tangier, September 1960) was an English painter who lived for many years in the city of Granada.

In 1904 he made a trip to Italy, where he visited various cities such as Venice and Rome. He was attracted by the light of the Mediterranean and made different watercolors in which he represented mainly traditional scenes and great historical buildings such as the Basilica of San Marcos.
In 1907 he secretly married Hilda Pope. The family of the bride disapproved of the union and they moved to Lugano (Switzerland) to later return to London, where he remained for a few years and had two children: Edward and Phyllis. In 1914, without the company of his wife, he traveled to Spain for the first time and in 1916 he decided to emigrate and settled in Madrid for a year. In 1917 he settled in Granada where he met Enriqueta Contreras, who became his sentimental partner and portrayed many times throughout his life. As a result of this union, he had two other children: Jorge and Enrique.
In 1918 an exhibition was held with his works in Madrid that was inaugurated by King Alfonso XIII and his wife Victoria Eugenia de Battenberg. From then on, his prestige and consideration in the Spanish art world increased considerably.

In the decades of 1920 and 1930 its style evolved carrying out diverse costumbristas portraits.
After the proclamation of the II Spanish Republic, in 1933 he moved with his family to Tangier (Morocco) where he remained until his death in 1960, although he made frequent trips to Granada, where he always kept his home. In the Moroccan city he became interested in new subjects and was fascinated by the orientalism and the charm of the city and its surroundings.

George Owen Wynne Apperley R.I. R.A. was born 17th June 1884 in Ventnor, Isle of Wight, England and died in Tangier in 1960. George was educated at Eagle House, Sandhurst and at Uppingham School prior to studying art at Herkomer Academy, Bushey, Herts.
He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in London, 1905 and then mounted his first individual exhibition in London, 1906. He was elected as a member of the Royal Institute of Watercolour Artists in 1913.