Stefanos Xydis was born in Athens in 1912 and passed away in Columbia, USA, in 1975. He was the son of Georgios Xydis and Alexandra Dragoumi, and the brother of Alexandros Xydis—a diplomat, art critic, art collector, and founding member of the Greek Art Critics Association.
During the 1930s, he was an athlete for the Athens Lawn Tennis Club, becoming a champion of Greece and Egypt, with participations and distinctions in numerous domestic and international tournaments and competitions. He studied political and economic sciences at the University of Athens. In 1940, he moved to the USA, where he earned a master’s degree from Princeton University and a doctoral degree from Columbia University.
During World War II, he served as Executive Secretary of the Greek Government Information Service in Washington and New York. Subsequently, he was a Senior Editor in the Department of Public Information of the United Nations Secretariat and a collaborator for “The Voice of America”.
He taught Modern Greek Literature at Columbia University and Political Science at Hunter College of the City University of New York. He also served as an advisor to the Greek Delegation to the United Nations. He authored many articles regarding the culture, economy, and international relations of Greece in major American journals.
His involvement with painting remains almost unknown. In 1940, he participated in the Panhellenic Art Exhibition at the Zappeion Megaron and in a painting and sculpture exhibition organized by the Anglo-Hellenic League for its members.