Robert Henderson Blyth was predominantly a landscape painter, who used both oil and pen and wash to create striking semi-abstract paintings. Born in Glasgow he studied at the Glasgow School of Art from 1934 to 1939. In 1941, Henderson Blyth joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and served with them until the end of the Second World War.

During the war, Henderson Blyth continued to paint and sketch despite being on active service, producing works often influenced by his experiences. Four paintings produced from this period were acquired by the War Artists' Advisory Committee. In 1946, Henderson Blyth began teaching at the Edinburgh School of Art and became an artist in residence at the acclaimed Hospitalfield House.

In 1954, Henderson Blyth moved to Aberdeen to take a post at Gray's School of Art, where he became Head of Drawing in 1960, a post he maintained until his death in 1970.

The Scottish Arts Council organised a memorial exhibition to Blyth which toured Scotland during 1972.