donald buyers (1930-2003)
Buyers was fortunate to be a pupil of the redoubtable Charles Hemingway at Aberdeen Grammar School. Subsequently, as a student of Robert Sivell, RSA, head of drawing and painting at Gray's School of Art, he was selected to assist in the completion of the celebrated murals in the Student's Union. Following an upsurge in tuberculosis after the Second World War, art therapists were introduced, and Buyers became the first to be appointed in Aberdeen Hospitals. Working alongside him at the time was a young nurse, Margaret, whom he later married.
Their honeymoon in Paris became an extended stay in the city which they both loved; Buyers painted and found casual work, while Margaret, a trained nurse, was employed by Caroline Marcs, a cousin of Peggy Guggenheim. On their return to Aberdeen, Buyers shared a studio in Back Wynd, and the three friends, Eric Auld, Bill Baxter and Bill Ord formed the ABBO Group, which became a dynamic force in the Arts of Aberdeen throughout the 60's and 70's.
Although elected to the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour in 1973, and latterly well known for his watercolours of North-East Scottish landscapes, Donald Buyers, RSW, was equally adept at painting landscapes and still lifes on panel. According to his wife, Margaret, and his two children, Donna and Mark, painting and his sunny garden were his two loves - "There was not a day when he was not either at his easel or in his beloved garden."
The following synopsis of the Life and Works of Donald Buyers, written by Dr Ian McKenzie Smith O.B.E., P.R.S.A., P.P.R.S.W., R.G.I. for the 124th Annual Exhibition Catalogue for The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour, is a thorough and accurate summary of Donald Buyers' academic and artistic career: "From his earliest days, it was clear that Donald Buyers would be a painter. He had vivid memories of sketching Ballater Bridge on the River Dee in Aberdeenshire when he was eight years old. His maternal grandfather, William Stewart, had exhibited in the Royal Academy, and his father's family had connections with James McBey, the renowned etcher.
Buyers continued in education, and from 1964 to 1985 he was a lecturer at Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology, latterly at Gray's School of Art. During most of this period he was a regular contributer to most of the major exhibitions in Scotland, and his work is represented in the Duke of Edinburgh's collection and in many public and private collections in this country and abroad.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1954, 1958-Gaumont Gallery, Aberdeen
1955-Crown Gallery, Aberdeen
1956, 1968-Art Centre, Edinburgh
1969, 1971, 1973-Douglas & Foulis Gallery, Edinburgh
1969, 1973-Art Centre, Aberdeen
1970, 1972, 1974, 1978, 1986-Staff Common Room, University of Aberdeen
1975, 1977-Gallery Paton, Edinburgh
1989, 1992-Tolquhon Gallery, Tarves
1991-Tolquhon Gallery, Edinburgh
1993-Cornhill Hospital Gallery, Aberdeen
ABBO GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1957-Gaumont Gallery, Aberdeen
1958-Dundee Art Gallery
1958-Braemar Festival
1960, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967-McLellan Galleries, Glasgow
1962-Peterhead Art Gallery
1964-De Mann, Belgium
1964-Westgate Gallery, Newcastle
1965-Birmingham University
1965-Crestine Gallery
1965-Aberdeen Art Gallery
SELECTED PUBLIC AND CORPORATE COLLECTIONS
Arts Council for Great Britain, Scottish Committee; Art Gallery and Museum, Aberdeen; International Business Machines, London; Royal Edinburgh Hospitals; The Teachers' Centre, Angus; Dumbartonshire Educational Trust; Midlothian Education Authority; George Watson's Ladies' College, Edinburgh; College of Education, Coventry; School Pictures Library, Leeds; Medical Centre, University of Colorado, U.S.A.; Tayside Regional Council; Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen; Phillips Petroleum, Aberdeen; Adams & Company, London; Robert Fleming & Company, London; The Trustee Saving Ban, Scotland; First Bus PLC, Aberdeen.
Their honeymoon in Paris became an extended stay in the city which they both loved; Buyers painted and found casual work, while Margaret, a trained nurse, was employed by Caroline Marcs, a cousin of Peggy Guggenheim. On their return to Aberdeen, Buyers shared a studio in Back Wynd, and the three friends, Eric Auld, Bill Baxter and Bill Ord formed the ABBO Group, which became a dynamic force in the Arts of Aberdeen throughout the 60's and 70's.
Although elected to the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour in 1973, and latterly well known for his watercolours of North-East Scottish landscapes, Donald Buyers, RSW, was equally adept at painting landscapes and still lifes on panel. According to his wife, Margaret, and his two children, Donna and Mark, painting and his sunny garden were his two loves - "There was not a day when he was not either at his easel or in his beloved garden."
The following synopsis of the Life and Works of Donald Buyers, written by Dr Ian McKenzie Smith O.B.E., P.R.S.A., P.P.R.S.W., R.G.I. for the 124th Annual Exhibition Catalogue for The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour, is a thorough and accurate summary of Donald Buyers' academic and artistic career: "From his earliest days, it was clear that Donald Buyers would be a painter. He had vivid memories of sketching Ballater Bridge on the River Dee in Aberdeenshire when he was eight years old. His maternal grandfather, William Stewart, had exhibited in the Royal Academy, and his father's family had connections with James McBey, the renowned etcher.
Buyers continued in education, and from 1964 to 1985 he was a lecturer at Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology, latterly at Gray's School of Art. During most of this period he was a regular contributer to most of the major exhibitions in Scotland, and his work is represented in the Duke of Edinburgh's collection and in many public and private collections in this country and abroad.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1954, 1958-Gaumont Gallery, Aberdeen
1955-Crown Gallery, Aberdeen
1956, 1968-Art Centre, Edinburgh
1969, 1971, 1973-Douglas & Foulis Gallery, Edinburgh
1969, 1973-Art Centre, Aberdeen
1970, 1972, 1974, 1978, 1986-Staff Common Room, University of Aberdeen
1975, 1977-Gallery Paton, Edinburgh
1989, 1992-Tolquhon Gallery, Tarves
1991-Tolquhon Gallery, Edinburgh
1993-Cornhill Hospital Gallery, Aberdeen
ABBO GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1957-Gaumont Gallery, Aberdeen
1958-Dundee Art Gallery
1958-Braemar Festival
1960, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967-McLellan Galleries, Glasgow
1962-Peterhead Art Gallery
1964-De Mann, Belgium
1964-Westgate Gallery, Newcastle
1965-Birmingham University
1965-Crestine Gallery
1965-Aberdeen Art Gallery
SELECTED PUBLIC AND CORPORATE COLLECTIONS
Arts Council for Great Britain, Scottish Committee; Art Gallery and Museum, Aberdeen; International Business Machines, London; Royal Edinburgh Hospitals; The Teachers' Centre, Angus; Dumbartonshire Educational Trust; Midlothian Education Authority; George Watson's Ladies' College, Edinburgh; College of Education, Coventry; School Pictures Library, Leeds; Medical Centre, University of Colorado, U.S.A.; Tayside Regional Council; Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen; Phillips Petroleum, Aberdeen; Adams & Company, London; Robert Fleming & Company, London; The Trustee Saving Ban, Scotland; First Bus PLC, Aberdeen.
