George Papassavas is a painter who has traveled extensively throughout Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

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Born in Stavroupoli

Stavroupoli, Xanthi

Stavroupoli is a village and a former municipality in the Xanthi peripheral unit, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Xanthi, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 3,090...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, Papassavas against his father's will taught himself the techniques of the classical artist at a young age. At the age of 17, he was put into exile and forced into labor by the invading Bulgarian army. After his return to Greece, he began formal study at the Athens School of Fine Arts

Athens School of Fine Arts

The Athens School of Fine Arts , is Greece's premier art school whose main objective is to develop the artistic talents of its students.-History:Athens School of Fine Arts was established on 12 January 1837, known as the School for the Arts...

. In 1955, after being enchanted by the book Brazil: A Land of the Future by Stefan Zweig

Stefan Zweig

Stefan Zweig was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist and biographer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most famous writers in the world.- Biography :...

, Papassavas journeyed with his wife to Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 where he studied under Candido Portinari

Cândido Portinari

Candido Portinari was one of the most important Brazilian painters and also a prominent and influential practitioner of the neo-realism style in painting....

. In search of artistic inspiration

Artistic inspiration

Inspiration refers to an unconscious burst of creativity in a literary, musical, or other artistic endeavour. Literally, the word means "breathed upon," and it has its origins in both Hellenism and Hebraism. The Greeks believed that inspiration came from the muses, as well as the gods Apollo and...

, Papassavas made several trips throughout South America observing both its people and natural environment. At the end of 1967, he moved to United States and continued his development in art at Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

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Bold outlines and warm colors characterize his dominate style in painting.