Key Information
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Burns, William Alexander
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Description area
Dates of existence
1921-1972
History
Born in Glasgow, Burns learned to fly at the Glasgow Flying Club in 1938 and was quickly called up as a pilot once war was declared. Following active service, he was invalided out of the RAF in 1942.
Burns studied at the Glasgow School of Art from 1944-1948 where he was a contemporary of Joan Eardley and Danny Ferguson. He then attended Jordanhill College of Education from 1948 -1949, completing a dissertation entitled "Teaching the Blind,"and also studied at Hospitalfield, Arbroath. He later started teaching at Aberdeen College of Education, going on to become a principal lecturer and the Head of the Art Department.
Flying remained a fascination and he kept his own light aircraft at Dyce airport, using it to explore the east coast landscape which inspired many of his later works. He died when his plane crashed in dense fog off the coast between Newtonhill and Portlethen, just south of Aberdeen.
His paintings can be seen in many public collections, with several held at GMRC.
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Sources
- GSA Registers
- www.billcliffegallery.com/artists
- Press & Journal article, Mon16 Oct., 1972