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Basil Alkazzi was a prolific painter whose career spanned over six decades. Best known for his luminous gouache paintings, his works explore cycles of life, landscape, and spiritual transformation, moving between observed terrain and imagined, metaphysical realms.
Born in Pune, India, to a Saudi-Kuwaiti family, he was raised between India and Lebanon and educated in Beirut before moving to London to study at the Central School of Art in the 1950s. Early travels, particularly in Greece, shaped his sensitivity to light, atmosphere, and terrain, forming the visual language that would define his practice.
Alkazzi established his career in London in the early 1970s, going on to exhibit widely internationally, with works now held in major collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Royal College of Art, London; and the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters, Kuwait.
From the mid-1980s, Alkazzi lived between London and New York, later settling in Monaco, where he remained for the rest of his life. Alongside his artistic practice, Basil Alkazzi was a dedicated philanthropist, establishing scholarships and supporting artists and educational institutions, with a lasting commitment to widening access to the arts.