Robert Buhler, RA (1916-1989)
Robert Buhler was born on 23 November 1916 in London. His father Robert Buhler was a Swiss journalist and aircraft designer, and his mother Lucie Kronig owned a bookshop and café in Fitzrovia, London.
From the age of 12 Robert Buhler knew he wanted to be an artist, and he first studied art in Switzerland in 1933, at the Kunstgewerbe Schule, Zurich, and then in Basle. On his return to London, he attended St Martin’s School of Art under Harry Morley, Vivian Pitchforth and Leon Underwood. He then won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art, but gave it up after six months in favour of a studio in Camden Town. While establishing himself as a painter, he also taught part-time at Wimbledon School of Art.
Through his mother’s London bookshop and café, Robert Buhler met leading members of the Euston Road School.
Though he did not join these artists, he was inspired by their spare compositions and restrained palettes. Specialising in portraits in oil and pastel, he first exhibited in 1936, at which time he was singled out by the art critic Herbert Read. A couple of years later, he made his name with his portrait of Stephen Spender, which, well received, was bought by the Contemporary Art Society. In 1938 Robert Buhler married Evelyn M Rowell, and two years later they had a son, Michael.
After the Second World War, Robert Buhler exhibited as an associate of the Royal Academy until 1956, when he was elected a full member. His notable sitters include artists Francis Bacon, Ruskin Spear, Carel Weight and Donald Hamilton Fraser, all of which were exhibited at the Royal Academy. He had joined the London Group of artists in 1948, and while living in Chelsea was a tutor at the Chelsea School of Art. He also taught at the Royal College of Art between 1948 and 1975, teaching his son when he was enrolled there.
In 1960 Robert Buhler’s portrait of John Davenport was exhibited as his Diploma Work at the Royal Academy. The following year he was part of the hanging committee for the Summer Exhibition, and again in 1975, 1979, 1983 and 1984.
Turning from portraiture to landscape, he worked frequently in East Anglia, renting cottages until 1964, and then moving to Moat House in Norfolk. Sir John Rothenstein wrote of his landscapes, that ‘at least at first glance [they appear] as straightforward representations, which is far from the fact, ... their realistic look is illusory, for they are based upon elaborate geometrical designs and their apparent straightforwardness is testimony to the thought devoted to their composition’.
Robert Buhler died in London on 20 June 1989. His first marriage had ended in 1951, and although he remarried since, he was again divorced by 1972. He was survived by his son Michael, who became a well-known artist. Many pictures by Robert Buhler were exhibited posthumously in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition following his death, in 1990. His work is represented in the collections of the Arts Council, the Contemporary Art Society, the National Portrait Gallery and the Tate Gallery.
References and further reading
Colin Hayes, Robert Buhler, London: Weidenfield and Nicolson, 1986
David Wolfers, ‘Robert Buhler RA’, The Tatler, 1 October 1958
Biography; Art UK online
William Packer, ‘Michael Buhler obituary' The Guardian, 9 December 2009
