The painter Telemachos Kanthos was born in Alona, Cyprus, in 1910 and passed away in Nicosia in 1993.
He studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts under O. Argyros, S. Vikatos, and K. Parthenis (from 1929 onward), and printmaking under Y. Kefallinos (from 1934 onward).
He belonged to the Generation of the ’30s, and influences from Cézanne can be detected in his work. He returned to Cyprus for periods of time, while also traveling to many countries and connecting with various artistic circles. He engaged in different visual art forms. His paintings are distinguished by their lyricism, clarity, and poetic quality, whereas his printmaking works—especially those created in 1941 during World War II and after the 1974 tragedy—are monumental and expressionistic, marked by internal tension and drama. His series of twelve woodcuts titled Hard Times was awarded at the XV Alexandria Biennale in 1984.
He also worked as a set and costume designer.
His works have been showcased in solo and group exhibitions, including the Panhellenic and Pan-Cyprian Exhibitions, as well as in Cairo, Boston, Vienna, and Prague. Retrospective exhibitions were organized at the National Gallery in Athens (1982) and the State Gallery of Contemporary Art in Nicosia (1996).
In 1979, he was honored by the Academy of Athens with the Alexandros Diomides Award.