Self-taught painter and teacher working mainly in watercolour, oil, acrylic and collage, born in Stettin, Germany. Moved to the United Kingdom in 1938 and began teaching at Leeds College of Art in 1960; from 1968 he held the position of head of fine art until retirement in 1980. Tirr’s abstract pictures include subtle biographical references, strong sweeps of colour beckoning and threatening. He appeared in many mixed shows, including The Teaching Image, at Leeds City Art Gallery, 1964. Had several dozen solo shows after New Vision Gallery, 1958, later ones including Leeds University Gallery, 1988; Scarborough Art Gallery, 1989; Gallery North, Kirkby Lonsdale, 1990; and The Gascoigne Gallery, Ilkley, 2000. Many public collections hold examples, including Bradford, Durham, Lancaster and Leeds Universities; Bradford City Art Gallery; Ben Uri Art Society; and Wollongong University, Australia, where in the early 1980s Tirr was artist-in-residence.