Roger Tourte was born in Champagne, France in 1903 and died in Athens in 1972.

He studied painting and architecture at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and Reims.

Between 1930 and 1932 he crossed Africa by bicycle and then Northern Europe. He later travelled to Persia, China, Japan and lastly South and North America.

Just before World War II Tourte visited Greece, and was so mesmerized by its beauties that he decided to settle down in Athens.

He painted and printed wishing cards, calendars and albums depicting ancient monuments, flowers, churches, island and mainland scenery of Greece, with the sensibility of colour being an underlying principle in his work.

In 1952 he published the book 'Mykonos' focusing on details of traditional architectural elements such as chimneys and pigeon houses found on the island. 

In 1937 Tourte held a solo exhibition at Jean Charpentier Gallery in Paris, other exhibitions followed in Athens. His work is found in public and private collections, notably: The Gennadios Library and the Collection Municipales de la Ville de Paris.