William Geissler, 1896-1963

Born in Edinburgh, Geissler attended evening classes at Edinburgh College of Art while employed as an apprentice draughtsman by the publishers Nelson. After army service in the First World War he enrolled on a full-time course at the college. He was a founder member of the '22 Group, an exhibiting society formed by a group of artists who had left the college in 1922, including William Gillies, William MacTaggart and William Crozier. Awarded a travelling scholarship, Geissler went with Gillies and Crozier to Paris, where the studied with André Lhote. After briefly teaching at Edinburgh College of Art and Perth Academy, he joined Moray House College of Education in Edinburgh in 1935. Geissler painted mainly landscapes, often with Gillies and John Maxwell.