Humfry Gilbert Garth Payne (19 February 1902 – 9 May 1936) was an English archaeologist, director of the British School at Athens from 1929 to his death.

He attended Westminster School and afterwards Christ Church, Oxford where he was awarded first class honours in classical Mods (1922) and Greats (1924).

He supervised, partially, John Beazley and Alan Blakeway, and they published joint papers on black-figured Attic pottery excavated at Naucratis.

There were large collections of vase material from Corinthia, Payne took up the challenge of studying and collating the information which he published in 1931 as Necrocorinthia,[1][4] which was admired and made his name throughout the archaeological world.

Payne spent summer archaeological excavation seasons 1927–1929 on Crete, around Knossos where Arthur Evans was working.