Aldrich Collection of Fine Art and Artefacts University of Brighton Faculty of Arts

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William Gear

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  • William Gear (1915-1997) was born in Methil, Fife. He studied Fine Art at Edinburgh College of between 1932-36 before studying Art History at Edinburgh University in 1937.

    On a travelling scholarship he studied with Leger in Paris. After serving in the Signals Corps during WWII, Gear lived in Paris from 1947-50 where he met Soulage and Poliakoff. While in Europe he exhibited with the CoBrA group in Amsterdam, and it was through CoBrA he became acquainted with Alan Davie. Gear was Curator of the Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne from1958-64 and Head of Fine Art at Birmingham College of Art from 1964-75. He is represented in numerous public collections, including Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Tate and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. He was made an RA in 1995.