Born in Belfast, Gerard Dillon worked for a decorating firm in London from 1934 to 1939. From 1936 he began to paint and visited Connemara frequently. Dillon spent the war years in Belfast and Dublin and, from 1943, was a regular contributor and committee member of the Irish Exhibition of Living Art. He returned to London in 1945 but often returned to Connemara to paint. Dillon represented Ireland at the Guggenheim International in 1960 and the Marzotto International Rome in 1963.
