CARL ADOLPH BÜCHNER‘s early work was largely preoccupied with the human subject matter. His painted forms were often slightly elongated with an expressionist distortion. The palate knife that he used in these early works was later replaced with brush marks. He appears to have been influenced by during his 1957-1958 tour of Europe, particularly by the work of Morandi. In period that followed, Büchner mostly abandoned the human figure in favour of still life paintings.

After obtaining his Fine Arts Degree at the Witwatersrand Technical College School of Arts and Crafts, Büchner went on to obtain his National Teaching Diploma in 1944. He continued to teach at several schools in Gauteng, and at the Pretoria Art Centre with Walter Battiss and others. He had his first solo exhibition in 1954 but it was only in 1970 that he retired from teaching to start his career as a full time artist.

Büchner is best known for his portraits of children, young men, flower sellers, and harlequins. It is said that the harlequin was a strong theme in Büchner’s work because he recognized them as symbols of every person, with something to hide from the outside world.