British (1904-1966)
Le Bas was born in London of Anglo-French heritage into a wealthy family of Channel Islands descent. He developed an interest in art early on as a child, and eventually decided to spend two months in Paris, studying under the painter and illustrator Hermann Paul, a disciple of Cézanne. Upon his return from France in 1924, he earned a degree in architecture at Cambridge University, before devoting himself to painting and enrolling at the Royal College of Art.

He held his first one-man show in 1936 at the prestigious Lefevre Gallery, and was elected a member of the London Group in 1942. The following year, he was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy, becoming a full member in 1954, and was awarded the CBE in 1957. The artist lived in London and exhibited between 1928 and 1940 at the Royal Academy, the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the New English Art Club, and other major galleries throughout Britain.

His unparalleled personal collection of 20th Century British and French Modern paintings was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1963.
The collection, a result of Le Bas' keen eye and personal friendship with many of the artists represented, highlighted his prescient understanding of modern art at the time.

Select Artist's Museums:

Royal Academy of Arts Collection, London
Tate Gallery, London
Brighton & Hove Museums, East Sussex
Charleston (the Bloomsbury Group), East Sussex
Dunedin Public Art Gallery, New Zealand
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia