Elizabeth Blackadder, Iris oncocyclus (Courtesy National Galleries of Scotland)
Scottish National Gallery
The Mound, Edinburgh
www.nationalgalleries.org
July 2, 2011 – Jan 2, 2012
Sponsored by Baillie Gifford
The artwork of one of Scotland’s most accomplished living artists, Dame Elizabeth Blackadder, is on view at the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh. The exhibition celebrates Blackadder’s 60-year career and her 80th birthday.
Since launching her career in 1959, Elizabeth Blackadder has become known for her paintings, prints and drawings. She was the first woman artist to be elected to both the Royal Academy and Royal Scottish Academy and in 2001 she was honored with the title Her Majesty the Queen’s Painter and Limner in Scotland, a role that began with Sir Henry Raeburn almost 200 years ago. Blackadder studied at Edinburgh University and Edinburgh College of Art.
Included in the exhibition are Blackadder’s early drawings of the Italian landscape and its architecture. Her Pop Art-inspired work fills the central room of the exhibition, while her well-known drawings, paintings and prints about nature are celebrated in an adjacent room. Blackadder’s studies of nature illustrate her desire to capture the world around her, with no subject being too small or insignificant.
Blackadder traveled extensively throughout her career. In the 1980s, her visits to Japan made an impression on her and resulted in her embracing new techniques and imagery. A room dedicated to her exploration of the country’s unique customs, objects and design is included in this exhibit. On view are Japanese-inspired prints created by combining materials such as gold leaf with more conventional printing methods.
The exhibition concludes with recent and new paintings, drawings and prints.
John Leighton, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland said:
Elizabeth Blackadder is, quite simply, one of Scotland’s greatest painters. She has revitalized long-established traditions of landscape, still life and flower painting in this country; she could be described as one of our finest painters in watercolor or equally lauded for her work as a printmaker. At once profoundly Scottish and enticingly exotic, her art is both familiar and mysterious. This major exhibition is both a celebration of her work and an invitation to look again at the achievement of an artist who could be described as a “national treasure”.
A Look at the Artwork of Elizabeth Blackadder
Courtesy of the National Galleries of Scotland
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