A botanist, biologist and teacher by profession, Donald Flather is celebrated for his vivid modernist landscapes that evince his love of the natural world.

Growing up in the Shuswap Lake region, Flather moved to Vancouver as a young man to study at the University of British Columbia. Before receiving a PhD in education, he taught at high schools in Vancouver, and he became the vice principal of King George Secondary School. Known for his modesty, he did not promote his art widely, preferring to share it with friends and family. Nevertheless he exhibited regularly with the BC Federation of Artists, and in 1950 his work was included in a show at the Art Gallery of Toronto. A founding member of the Federation of Canadian Artists along with Lawren Harris and Emily Carr, Flather served as an executive of the group for several years, later becoming their acting treasurer.

Diligently working in relative anonymity for the majority of his life, Flather has since attained wider recognition for his detailed and expressive depictions of British Columbia and Canadian Arctic landscapes.