When we think of famous works, such as Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon or Roy Lichtenstein’s Ohhh…Alright..., we find it hard not to think of them hanging on the walls of the world’s most renowned museums. And yet, before they were considered masterpieces, they too remained for days and days inside their authors’ studios. It is precisely these, the artists’ studios – or ateliers – that Damian Elwes has been focusing on for over thirty years. 

Damian Elwes is a British artist, born in London, who now lives and works in Santa Monica, California. Although he grew up in a family of artists (his father and grandfather were portrait artists), a passion for art has not always been part of his life. Damian initially moved to the US to attend Harvard University with the aim of becoming a playwright, but when he moved to New York a couple of encounters with personalities from the art scene changed his life. 
It was none other than Andy Warhol and Keith Haring who encouraged and convinced him to invest in his artistic abilities. 

Thus, since the mid-1980s, Damian Elwes has been painting, focusing all his artistic production on one subject in particular, artists’ studios. In addition to getting information and studying in books and art manuals, Damian never misses a chance to visit the studios that have remained intact or the flats that once housed them. Once he has gathered all this information, he unleashes his technique and creativity. 

Thanks to his works we can enter Gauguin’s studio in Tahiti, Basquiat’s studio in Crosby Street, Picasso’s studio in Rue Schoelcher in Paris and many others. We have selected just a few, but to see them all visit Damian Elwes’ website and follow him on Instagram.