Painter and teacher, born in Montrose, Angus, where poor health confined him for most of his life. After education at Montrose Academy he attended Glasgow School of Art, 1923–7, winning the Newbery Medal as top student of his year. A travelling scholarship took him to Italy for a year, where the study of early Renaissance pictures influenced his own work. Meticulous detail, Hyper-Realist and Surrealistic elements all had a part in this. From 1938–40 Baird taught at Dundee College of Art. Baird was appointed an Official War Artist in 1943. Much of his output was portraits, examples being in the Scottish Arts Council and Dundee Art Galleries and Museums collections. It was the Council’s show of his work in 1968 which revived interest in Baird, then largely forgotten.