Born and raised in Sydney, Russell moved to Europe in his late teenage years to attend art school.

Henri Matisse visited Russell at Belle Île in the 1890s, and later credited the Australian with introducing him to impressionist techniques and colour theory.

Despite painting prolifically and maintaining close ties with the European avant-garde, Russell rarely exhibited his works and, having received a large inheritance from his father, showed no interest in making money from art.

[1][2] While in Europe, Russell maintained correspondence with Australian impressionist painter Tom Roberts, updating him on developments in French impressionism.

[1][5] In January 1881, following the death of his father, he used the considerable inheritance he received to enroll at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, where he studied under Alphonse Legros for three years.

His fellow students there included Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Émile Bernard, and Dutchman Vincent van Gogh, with whom he formed a lifelong friendship.

[8] They maintained correspondence, and some of Van Gogh's private letters reveal his deep fondness for Russell and his art.

[11] Russell married the renowned beauty Marianna Antonietta Mattiocco, an Italian seamstress and model of Auguste Rodin's.

[6] Russell was the first non-native to move to the island, leading locals to call his home overlooking Port Goulphar "Le Chateau de l'Anglais".

In 1890, Russell left Belle Île and traveled to Antibes in a horse-drawn cart, where he rented a house for the winter and produced some of his most acclaimed work.

[2][12] Russell's daughter, Madame Jeanne Jouve, known in Paris as a singer, stated that he had built up a collection of impressionist works—Van Gogh, Gauguin, Bernard, Guillaumin—which he intended to give to Australia, but none is known to have survived beyond his death.

Directed by Catherine Hunter and narrated by actor Hugo Weaving, the film was partially shot at Belle-Ile.

In 2023, Russell's 1897 painting Souvenir de Belle-Île sold at Deutscher and Hackett in Melbourne for A$3,927,273, making it the most expensive of his publicly auctioned works.