Portrait of Miss May (1925)

Born in Leeds to Polish-Jewish immigrant parents, Naviasky won a scholarship to the Leeds School of Fine Arts in 1907. In 1912, he was the youngest ever student accepted into the Royal Academy school. He went on to win a Royal Exhibition award and to study at the Royal College of Art. His reputation as a portrait painter won him many high-profile commissions including both Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald and his Chancellor, Philip Snowden.

Naviasky’s work has been offered at auction multiple times, the record price being 27,488 USD for The Beach, Hastings sold at Christie’s in 2008.