Ronald Forbes

Ronald Forbes RSA is a painter and film-maker.

Forbes studied at Edinburgh College of Art from 1964 to 1968, and later studied education at Jordanhill College, Glasgow, from 1970 to 71. He was an Influential lecturer at Glasgow School of Art (1979–2003), and was Head of Painting at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Dundee until devoting all his time to his studio practice in 2002.

Forbes has undertaken a number of artist residencies in Scotland, The Netherlands and Australia, including the Leverhulme Senior Art Fellowship at the University of Strathclyde, 1973–74, Artist in Residence in Livingston New Town, 1978–80, the Scottish Arts Council Amsterdam Studio Award 1980, Artist in Residence at the University of Tasmania Art School, Hobart, Australia in 1995, and the Leverhulme Trust Artist in Residence at the Scottish Crop Research Institute (now the James Hutton Institute) 2006–08.

His first ever solo exhibition was at the Compass Gallery, Glasgow in 1973 and since then more than fifty solo exhibitions and two and three person shows in venues such as the Third Eye Centre, Glasgow, Project Art Centre, Dublin, Drian Galleries, London, Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, Sonia Zaks Gallery, Chicago, Galerie Trace, Maastricht, Plimsoll Gallery Hobart and the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh. His paintings are held in public collections in the UK, Ireland, USA, Poland and Australia, as well as private collection internationally.

He is an academician of the Royal Scottish Academy, an elected member the Royal Glasgow institute of the Fine Arts and an elected professional member of the Society of Scottish Artists.