The Scotish National Gallery Celebrates Elizabeth Blackadder's 80th Birthday

Written by Conrad Hammersmith Monday, 14 May 2012 22:42

Edinburgh.- The Scottish National Gallery is proud to present an exhibition highlighting the work of one of Scotland’s most accomplished living artists, Dame Elizabeth Blackadder. Celebrating the artist’s 80th birthday, the exhibition will present her work in all its diversity, ranging from the much-loved studies after nature, to lesser-known paintings which will challenge expectations.  This landmark exhibition will span six decades of Blackadder’s career, beginning with her work in the 1950s and culminating in her most recent paintings. Since the opening of the exhibition that launched her career in 1959, Elizabeth Blackadder has become renowned for her paintings, prints and drawings.  Her work is both cherished by the public whilst being highly respected by the art establishment. She was the first woman artist to be elected to both the Royal Academy and Royal Scottish Academy and in 2001 she was honoured 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.

Born in Falkirk in 1931, Blackadder studied at Edinburgh University and Edinburgh College of Art. Her early work was shaped by her acquaintance with the Scottish painters William Gillies, William MacTaggart and Anne Redpath, whom she met through her studies.  Blackadder’s outstanding technical ability was visible from the outset and she thrived in an environment which focused on the primacy of drawing and observation. The exhibition will begin with early drawings of the Italian landscape and its architecture, shown alongside portraits from the period. This will include one of Blackadder herself completed when she was just twenty. These striking works still appear fresh over fifty years later, demonstrating her innate ability with paint and line. From the 1960s onwards, the motif of still-life became key to her development. Like other individual artistic voices of her generation, such as David Hockney and Howard Hodgkin, Blackadder quickly saw the possibilities offered by the vibrant colour and dynamism of Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism. Her subsequent works injected new life into the Edinburgh School tradition of finding subject matter in the surrounding world. Dazzling canvases, such as Flowers and a Red Table, will fill the central room of the exhibition, revealing the energising effect these developments have had on her art.

Blackadder’s studies from nature are perhaps the best-known and best-loved of all her work.  They illustrate a fascination which has continued throughout her long career; the desire to capture the world around her, with no subject being too small or insignificant.   Under Blackadder’s analytical eye the modest form of a flower or shell is transformed into a symphony of colour, shape and rhythm. These works will be celebrated with a room dedicated to her drawings, prints and especially her watercolours produced from nature. Blackadder has travelled widely throughout her career, with new sights and foreign cultures providing much inspiration. In the 1980s a series of visits to Japan made an indelible impression on her imagination which resulted in a burst of creativity that embraced new techniques and imagery.  A room in the exhibition will be dedicated to her exploration of the country’s unique customs, objects and design and will include works such as the outstanding Self-Portrait with Red Lacquer Table of 1988.

The display will also include the artist’s Japanese-inspired prints, which combine materials such as gold leaf with more conventional printing methods to create exquisite and precious works. The exhibition will conclude with recent and new painting, drawing and printmaking by an artist who continues to work tirelessly. Endlessly inspired by the world around her, she brings the same energy to her art now as she did at the outset of what has become a long and pre-eminent career.

The National Galleries of Scotland look after one of the world's finest collections of Western art ranging from the Middle Ages to the present day. These holdings include the National Collection of Scottish art which we rhe gallery proudly displays in an international context. They care for, research and develop these collections and aim to share these works of art with as wide a public as possible. Every year they welcome over a million visitors from Scotland and the rest of the world to the various Galleries sited in Edinburgh. They have active programmes of education, outreach and special exhibitions and where possible work with partners across Scotland to maximise the impact of activities. The National Galleries of Scotland's permanent collection is among the best in the world. Dating from the early Renaissance to the present day, it boasts works by some of the most important artists in history, as well as portraits of great Scots and the world’s most comprehensive collection of Scottish art. The collection is free to the public and open daily. Although the collection as a whole is owned by the nation, for administrative purposes, the objects are allocated to one of three major groupings, the Scottish National Gallery contains and shows artworks from the early Renaissance to 1900 and the national collection of Scottish art c.1600-c.1900, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery is home to Scotland's history from the sixteenth century to the present day as seen through the portraits of those who shaped it as well as containing the national collection of photography. The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art showcases modern and contemporary art, plus renowned Dada and Surrealist collections. Visit the museum's website at ... http://www.nationalgalleries.org

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