Robert Henderson Blyth
1919 - 1970
A native of Glasgow, Blythe attended the city's School of Art from 1934 to 39. Dissatisfied with the teaching methods current at the school, he was happier at Hospitalfield, Arbroath, where he studied under James Cowie. During the Second World War, Blythe served in the Royal Army Medical Corps, continuing to paint as he moved through the desolation of Europe. In 1946 he took up a teaching post at Edinburgh College of Art, followed by an appointment at Gray's School of Art, Aberdeen in 1954.
Text © Scottish National Portrait Gallery