Robert Melvin Simmers was born in in 1907, Hampstead, London. Simmers arrived in SA in 1924 and studied at the Michaelis School of Fine Art at UCT from 1925. Awarded the Michaelis Prize in 1927, he remained at the School in various capacities. A well-known figure in cultural circles, he was a critic for The Cape Times from 1933 to 1939 and reviewed many SASA exhibitions. From 1941 to 1946 he served with the Union Defence Force in North Africa. Fond of the theatre, he was one of the first male ballet dancers in Cape Town, partnering the late Dulcie Howes at UCT's Little Theatre. Theatre was an abiding interest, strongly influencing his approach to his figure compositions.

Simmers was a SASA member from 1933, and also its Secretary for some years. In 1936 his painting The Glory of Spring was acquired by the SANG directly from the SASA 34th Annual Exhibition. It drew praise as the artist's "most important exhibit", with its "luminous colour" and "fine design" (The Cape Times, 4. 8.1936). Priced at 75 guineas, it ranked with one of Edward Roworth's entries as one of the most expensive pictures on the exhibition. Opinion was divided on Simmers' work; Roworth praised it unreservedly, but critics like Bernard Lewis were largely dismissive. He retired from UCT as lecturer in anatomy and drawing in 1972. He died in Cape Town, 1991.