Terence GayerThe renowned water- colourist, printmaker, book illustrator and art teacher, Terence Gayer, has died aged 81. Born in London to Irish parents, he won a scholarship to the National College of Art in Dublin in the 1940s, where he subsequently won the prestigious Taylor scholarship.
By 1950 he was a lecturer in compositional design at the National College of Art and taught there until his retirement in 1989.
A quiet, often reticent man, he brought a vast knowledge of the theory and practice of art and design to hundreds of students over the years.
He proved a great influence on many artists such as the Sligo painter Seán McSweeney who said: "He was one of the first to open our minds to the modern movement - Cezanne, Gaugin, Van Gogh, Braque and Picasso. It was Terry Gayer who first showed us that world. He was also a great printmaker, one of the finest lino printmakers in Ireland."
Other pupils included artists such as Gerald Davis, Nancy Larchet, Arthur Gibney (past president of the RHA), sculptor Paddy McElroy and the late President, Cearbhaill Ó Dálaigh.
His hugely admired creative output was small but brilliant: he often produced as few as three or four watercolours a year. His slow, careful work reflected his perfectionist style, one that sometimes echoed his enthusiasm and admiration for the work of Stanley Spencer.
He designed the 1991 Christmas stamps for An Post - The Annunciation (28p), The Nativity (32p) and the Adoration of the Magi (52p) plus the first-day cover.
He regularly exhibited at the annual RHA exhibitions as well as the Oireachtas, the Living Art, the Independent Artists and the Watercolour Society of Ireland exhibitions and in art shows in Europe, India and the US.
His work is in the permanent collection at the University of Limerick and in private collections in Ireland and Europe.
He is survived by his wife, painter Barbara Farley.
Terence Gayer: born March 8th, 1924; died January 1st, 2006