Painter of abstracts and figurative work in tempera, oils and gouache; a muralist, gold and silversmith. Stephenson was Durham's greatest indigenous artist and was born and brought up in Bishop Auckland. He attended Darlington School of Art (1906-09) before going on to Leeds Art School and on to the RCA and the Slade under Tonks in 1918; his contemporaries included Ben Nicholson.
During World War I, he worked on turning artillery barrels near London and Bishop Auckland, prompting a later interest in metalworking and mechanical structures. By 1919, Stephenson had moved to London, still maintaining close artistic links with Durham. From 1922 until 1955 he was Head of Art teaching at the Northern Polytechnic, Holloway Road. During the 1930s, he was at the heart of a thriving arts community centred on the Mall Studios, Hampstead, led by Moore, Hepworth, Ben Nicholson and Herbert Read, and exhibited with them at the Seven and Five Society, the Constructivists and the AIA. He held a solo exhibition at the Drian Galleries in 1960 and his work is represented in the Tate Gallery.