| Biography |
| 1915 | Born, Methil, Fife, Scotland |
| 1932-36 | Edinburgh College of Art |
| 1936-37 | Post-graduate Scholarship |
| Studied History of Art at Edinburgh University |
| 1937-38 | Travelling Scholarship |
| Studied with Fernand Leger in Paris |
| 1938-39 | Moray House Training College, Edinburgh |
| 1940-45 | Royal Corps of Signals |
| Middle East, Italy, Germany |
| Exhibited in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Cairo, Florence |
| 1946-47 | In Germany with Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section of Control Commission |
| One-man exhibition in Celle and Hamburg |
| 1947-50 | Living and working in Paris |
| 1948 | One-man exhibitions: Galerie Arc en Ciel, Paris;
Gimpel Fils, London; Salon des Surindependents;
Salon des Realites Nouvelles. |
| 1949 | One-man exhibition Gimpel Fils, London |
| One-man exhibition at Betty Parsons Gallery, New York |
| Exhibited with 'Cobra' group in Amsterdam and Copenhagen |
| 1950 | Returned to England |
| 1951 | One-man exhibition, Gimpel Fils |
| Awarded Festival of Britain Purchase Prize |
| 1952 | 'Seventeen Collectors', Tate Gallery |
| First International Art Exhibition, Japan |
| 'Three British Painters', Passedoit Gallery, New York |
| Elected member of the London Group |
| One-man exhibition, Gimpel Fils |
| International Watercolour Exhibition, Brooklyn Museum, New York |
| Biennale, Sao Paulo |
| 1954 | Retrospective Exhibition, South London Gallery. British Paintings and Sculpture, Whitechapel Art Gallery |
| Venice Biennale |
| 1955 | 'Seven Scottish Painters', Arts Council Gallery, Edinburgh |
| 'Ten Years of English Landscape Painting 1945-55', at the ICA |
| Third International Art Exhibition, Japan |
| 1956 | One-man exhibition, Gimpel Fils |
| Contemporary British Art, Silberman Galleries, New York |
| 'The Seasons' Tate Gallery |
| 1957 | One-man exhibition, Saidenberg Gallery, New York |
| 'Metavisual, Tachiste, Abstract' Exhibition, Redfern Gallery |
| 1958 | One-man exhibition, Gimpel Fils |
| John Moores Liverpool Exhibition |
| 'Six British Painters', Galerie 22, Dusseldorf |
| Appointed Curator of Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne, Sussex |
| 1959 | Visited New York |
| John Moores Liverpool Exhibition |
| 1960 | One-man exhibition, The Stone Gallery, Newcastle |
| Guggenheim Award Exhibition, R W S Gallery |
| 1961 | Retrospective Exhibition, Gimpel Fils |
| 1962 | 'British Art Today', San Francisco, Dallas, USA |
| 1963 | One-man exhibition, Douglas and Foulis Gallery |
| British Painters and Sculptors, Gimpel-Hanover Gallery, Zurich |
| 1964 | One-man exhibition, Bear Lane Gallery, Oxford |
| London Group Jubilee Exhibition, Tate Gallery |
| Appointed Head of The Faculty of Fine Art, Birmingham College of Art |
| 1965 | One-man exhibitions; Birmingham University and Midland Group, Nottingham. |
| 1966 | Guest Lecturer at National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne and University of Western Australia, Perth |
| Joint exhibition with Alan Davie, Edinburgh Festival |
| 1967 | One-man exhibition, Gimpel Fils, London and Bonython Galleries, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney |
| John Moores Liverpool Exhibition |
| David Cargill Award, Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts |
| 1968 | Scottish Painting '68, Demarco Gallery, Edinburgh |
| 1969 | 'Paintings 1948-68', Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Scottish Arts Council Belfast, Londonderry and Glasgow |
| John Moores Exhibition, Liverpool |
| 1970 | Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham, 'Prints and Gouaches' |
| '20th Century Artists', Gimpel Fils |
| 1971 | Exhibition, Gardner Art Centre, University of Sussex |
| 1972 | 'The Non-Objective World 1939-1955', Annely Juda Gallery, London, Galerie Liatowitsch, Basel and Galleria Milana, Milan |
| 1973 | 'Decade 1940-49', Arts Council Tour, Whitechapel Gallery, London |
| 1974 | 'Midland Art Now', Ikon Gallery, Birmingham |
| 'Ten Years of Collecting', Dundee Art Gallery |
| '100 Years of Scottish Painting', Fine Art Society, Edinburgh |
| 1975 | Awarded Lorne Fellowship |
| 'Modern British Watercolours', Victoria and Albert Museum |
| Retired from post as Head of Department of Fine Art, Birmingham College of Art |
| 1976 | Retrospective Exhibition, R B S A Galleries, Birmingham |
| 1977 | 'British Painting 1952-77', Royal Academy |
| 1978 | 'The Pier Gallery Collection', Tate Gallery and Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art |
| 1979 | 'British Drawings since 1945', Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester |
| 1980 | One-man exhibition, North Staffs Polytechnic, Stoke |
| 1981 | John Moores Exhibition, Liverpool |
| 1982 | 'British Watercolours', British Council Tour of China and Hong Kong |
| International Cobra Exhibition, Musee d'Art Moderne, Paris |
| Retrospective Exhibition, Talbot Rice Art Centre, University of Edinburgh and Ikon Gallery, Birmingham |
| 'British Watercolours and Drawings', Edinburgh Festival |
| 1983 | 'CoBrA 1948-1951', Maison de la Culture, Chalons-sur-Saone and Musee des Beaux-Arts, Rennes |
| One-man exhibition 'Painting into Landscape', Spacex Gallery, Exeter |
| 1984 | 'CoBrA', Museum of Contemporary Art, Caracas, Venezuela |
| 'British Art and Design', Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
| 1985 | Retrospective Exhibition, Kircaldy Art Gallery, Fife and Netherbow Art Centre, Edinburgh |
| Biennal, Sao Paulo, 'CoBrA' |
| 'Contemporary Scottish Art', National Museum of Fine Art, Rio de Janeiro |
| 1986 | 'CoBrA', Works on Paper, Stuijvenberg Collection, Caracas |
| 'CoBrA', Stuijvenberg Collection, Malmo and Taiwan |
| 'British Prints 1945-1960', Redfern Gallery, London and 'Design' Exhibition, Redfern Gallery, London |
| 'The Modern Spirit in Scottish Painting', The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh |
| Royal Scottish Academy |
| 1987 | 'CoBrA', Stuijvenberg Collection, Stockholm |
| One-man exhibition 'The CoBrA Years 1948-1951', Redfern Gallery, London |
| 1988 | One-man exhibition 'Cobrabstractions 1946-1949', Galerie 1900-2000, Paris |
| 1988-89 | One-man exhibition. Karl & Faber, Munich |
| 1989 | Scottish Painting Since 1900. Group exhibition |
| Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and Barbican Gallery, London |
| One-man exhibition. Galerie Gabriele Von Loeper. Hamburg |
| 4 Abstract Artists, Redfern Gallery, London |
| Zellermayer Galerie, Berlin |
| 1990 | Kunsthandel Leeman Amsterdam |
| 'Scottish Art 1900-1990', Scottish Gallery, London |
| 'Contemporary Scottish Artists', Cormund Gallery, Glasgow |
| 'From Prism to Paintbox' Welsh Arts Council Tour |
| L'Hotel de Bacholtz, Liege |
| La Galerie la Cite, Luxembourg |
| Galerie Carintiha, Vienna |
| 'The Compass Contribution', Glasgow |
| 'The 20th Century Scottish Print', Hunterian Gallery, Glasgow |
| '75th Birthday Exhibition, Paintings and Works on Paper, Cobra and After', Redfern Gallery, London |
| 'Avant-Garde Printmaking in Britain 1914-1960', British Museum, London |
| 1991 | 'The Birmingham Seven', Murray Feely Fine Art |
| The European Fine Art Fair, Exhibition and Congress Centre, Maastricht |
| 1992 | 'British Abstract Art of the 50s and 60s', Belgrave Gallery |
| 'William Gear, Paintings 1955-56', Redfern Gallery, London |
| 'William Gear CoBrA and After', Galerie Doris Wullkopf, Darmstadt |
| 'William Gear', Galerie Gabriele von Loeper, Hamburg |
| 'William Gear 1950-70', Leeman Art Gallery, Amsterdam |
| 1993 | 'CoBrA', Stuijvenberg Collection, Liège |
| CoBrA Exhibition, Gemeente Galerie, Amstelveen |
| '10 Jahre', Galerie Doris Wullkopf, Darmstadt |
| 'The Line of Tradition', Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh |
| 'The Edinburgh School', The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh |
| 'The Sussex Scene', Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne (and Hove) |
| 1994 | Honorary Doctorate, University of Central England, Birmingham |
| 'CoBrA', Stuijvenberg Collection, Santiago and Buenos Aires |
| Awarded Sir Howard Barker Scholarship from Royal Academy of Arts |
| Retrospective Exhibition, Emscote Lawn, Warwick |
| 'Out of Print, British Printmaking 1946-76', The British Council |
| 1995 | Elected Senior Royal Academician |
| Awarded Honorary Doctorate, University of Central England |
| Helios Gallery, Birmingham |
| 'Gear and Heron', Scottish Arts Club, Edinburgh International Festival |
| 'William Gear - Past and Present Friends', Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery |
| CoBrA Museum of Modern Art, Amstelveen |
| 'CoBrA 1948-51', Kunstverein Grafschaft, Bentheim |
| CoBrA Exhibition, Galerie Gabriele von Loeper, Hamburg |
| 1996 | 'Paintings from the Royal Academy of Arts and Modern Master Prints, World |
| Trade Centre, Dubai |
| 1997 | Died, Birmingham |
| 'William Gear', Sprengel Museum, Hanover |
| 'William Gear Golden Jubilee Exhibition', Redfern Gallery, London |
| Awarded The Leporello Prize by Regional Government of Lower Saxony |
| Collections |
| Art Gallery and Museum, Aberdeen |
| Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Belfast |
| City Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham |
| Museum and Art Gallery, Brighton |
| Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York |
| The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra |
| Karel van Stuijvenberg Collection, Caracas, Venezuela |
| Art Museum (Print Collection) Cincinatti, Ohio |
| City Art Gallery, Dundee |
| Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne |
| Scottish Arts Council, Edinburgh |
| Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh |
| City Art Centre, Edinburgh |
| Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
| City Art Gallery, Glasgow |
| Hunterian Art Gallery, Glasgow |
| Museum and Art Gallery, Kirkcaldy |
| Musee des Beaux Arts, Liege |
| Institute of Contemporary Art, Lima, Peru |
| The Tate Gallery, London |
| Arts Council of Great Britain, London |
| Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
| Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester |
| City Art Gallery, Manchester |
| Bishop Suter Art Galleries, Nelson, New Zealand |
| Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle |
| Museum of Modern Art (Print Collection), New York |
| National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa |
| Art Gallery, Southampton |
| National Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney |
| Pier Gallery, Stromness, Orkney |
| Museum of Art, Tel Aviv |
| City Art Gallery, Toledo, Ohio |
| The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto |
| Liege (Luttich) Musee d'Art Moderne |
| Strathclyde Regional Council |
