Versatile painter, draughtsman and teacher, born in Trinidad of Scottish parents working in the sugar industry, father of the artist Mark Gilbert. Norman crossed the Atlantic six times by the age of nine, was a pupil at Marr College, Troon, 1939–44, served in the Royal Navy, 1944–8, but decided then to paint, “the only thing that would last a lifetime.” With an ex-service grant he attended Glasgow School of Art, 1948–52, but was “at odds with the academic Impressionism admired there”. After working as a scenic artist, 1952–3, Gilbert bought a caravan and became a pigman, the irregular hours leaving him time to paint. Persistence gained showings at Piccadilly and Leicester Galleries in the 1950s. Taught in Dunbartonshire, 1957–62, and Glasgow, 1964–7, then resigned full-time teaching.