Vincent Frederick Butler, born in Manchester in 1933, studied sculpture at the Manchester School of Art, the Edinburgh College of Art and at the Academy of Fine Art in Milan, during the fifties. After almost a decade living in Italy and later in Nigeria, he opened his studio in Stockbridge area of Edinburgh and worked there up until his death in 2017. Until 1989 he was a tutor at the Edinburgh College of Art, specializing in life modelling and bronze casting. He was elected member of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1977 and a few years later, of the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Art.
Butler produced hundreds of bronze sculptures during his prolific career. His special interest was in the human figure although his repertoire included still life subjects and occasionally animals. Most of his work is in bronze but he has produced a few pieces in wood and marble or in terracotta.
His work has been widely exhibited throughout Scotland and England as well as in Europe, and was a regular contributor to the major Art Societies in Scotland. He was also a skilled letter cutter and the author of a manual on methods of casting, published by A&C Black.