Elizabeth Blackadder
Encyclopedia
Dame Elizabeth Violet Blackadder, DBE, RA
, RSA
(born 1931, Falkirk
) is a Scottish
painter
and printmaker. She is the first woman to be elected to both the Royal Scottish Academy
and the Royal Academy
.
In 1962 she began teaching at Edinburgh College of Art
where she continued until her retirement in 1986. Blackadder worked in a variety of media such as oil paints, watercolour, drawing and print making. She attended Glasgow Print Studio
where she worked with print makers to produce etchings and screen prints of flowers. In her still life paintings and drawings, she considers space between objects carefully. She also paints portraits and landscapes but her later work contains mainly her cats and flowers with extreme detail.
Her work can be seen at the Tate Gallery
, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
, and the Museum of Modern Art
in New York
, and has appeared on a series of Royal Mail
stamps.
, she donated one of her paintings to the school on the occasion of its centenary in 1986.
She studied at both the Edinburgh College of Art
and Edinburgh University where she graduated with first class honours in 1954. Blackadder studied early Byzantine art
while at university, where she was influenced by William Gillies
, Penelope Beaton and Robert Henderson Blyth, as well as by her lecturers.
. She painted landscapes in Italy
, Greece
and Yugoslavia
. She also showed more experimental work in the 50’s which showed the influence of American artists Jackson Pollock
and Mark Rothko
.
In the 1960s she developed her interests in still life while continuing with her love of landscape by painting landscapes in France
, Spain
, Portugal
and Scotland
. During her travels to France she became more aware of the artist Henri Matisse
and because of this influence she ended up lightening up her palette. In the 60’s Blackadder acquired a growing reputation for her paintings of flowers, Flowers on an Indian Cloth being a notable example.
In the 70’s she gained an interest in Japan
and Japanese artistic traditions and she started using Japanese paper for her water colour paintings with the background being left blank.
In the 1980s she visited Japan on a number of occasions and many of her paintings at the time showed the influence of these trips.
Elizabeth Blackadder also travelled to the America
. Souvenirs of her travels would appear in many of her paintings.
in 1982, promoted to DBE in 2003.
In 2001 she was appointed Her Majesty’s Painter and Limner in Scotland
.
She has been awarded honorary doctorates
by four universities.
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, RSA
Royal Scottish Academy
The Royal Scottish Academy is a Scottish organisation that promotes contemporary Scottish art. Founded in 1826, as the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts, the RSA maintains a unique position in Scotland as an independently funded institution led by eminent artists and...
(born 1931, Falkirk
Falkirk
Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....
) is a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and printmaker. She is the first woman to be elected to both the Royal Scottish Academy
Royal Scottish Academy
The Royal Scottish Academy is a Scottish organisation that promotes contemporary Scottish art. Founded in 1826, as the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts, the RSA maintains a unique position in Scotland as an independently funded institution led by eminent artists and...
and the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
.
In 1962 she began teaching at Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art is an art school in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing tertiary education in art and design disciplines for over two thousand students....
where she continued until her retirement in 1986. Blackadder worked in a variety of media such as oil paints, watercolour, drawing and print making. She attended Glasgow Print Studio
Glasgow Print Studio
Glasgow Print Studio is an arts organisation situated in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1972, Glasgow Print Studio is an organisation with charitable status that exists to encourage and promote the art of printmaking; it is supported by the Scottish Arts Council and Glasgow City Council.Providing...
where she worked with print makers to produce etchings and screen prints of flowers. In her still life paintings and drawings, she considers space between objects carefully. She also paints portraits and landscapes but her later work contains mainly her cats and flowers with extreme detail.
Her work can be seen at the Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh, holds the national collection of modern art. When opened in 1960, the collection was held in Inverleith House, at the Royal Botanic Gardens...
, and the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and has appeared on a series of Royal Mail
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
stamps.
Education
A former pupil of Falkirk High SchoolFalkirk High School
Founded in 1886, Falkirk High School had a strong tradition of academic, musical and sporting excellence.Until the era of comprehensive education it was one of the leading senior secondary schools in Scotland and every year pupils won major scholarships to Oxbridge and the ancient Scottish...
, she donated one of her paintings to the school on the occasion of its centenary in 1986.
She studied at both the Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art is an art school in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing tertiary education in art and design disciplines for over two thousand students....
and Edinburgh University where she graduated with first class honours in 1954. Blackadder studied early Byzantine art
Byzantine art
Byzantine art is the term commonly used to describe the artistic products of the Byzantine Empire from about the 5th century until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453....
while at university, where she was influenced by William Gillies
William Gillies
William Gillies was a Scottish patriot and a socialist. He helped to form the Scots National League which joined with in other bodies to form the National Party of Scotland which in turn evolved into the Scottish National Party ....
, Penelope Beaton and Robert Henderson Blyth, as well as by her lecturers.
Influence and inspiration
During the 1950s she was awarded many travelling scholarships and travelled widely on the ContinentEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. She painted landscapes in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. She also showed more experimental work in the 50’s which showed the influence of American artists Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and...
and Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko, born Marcus Rothkowitz , was a Russian-born American painter. He is classified as an abstract expressionist, although he himself rejected this label, and even resisted classification as an "abstract painter".- Childhood :Mark Rothko was born in Dvinsk, Vitebsk Province, Russian...
.
In the 1960s she developed her interests in still life while continuing with her love of landscape by painting landscapes in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. During her travels to France she became more aware of the artist Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter...
and because of this influence she ended up lightening up her palette. In the 60’s Blackadder acquired a growing reputation for her paintings of flowers, Flowers on an Indian Cloth being a notable example.
In the 70’s she gained an interest in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Japanese artistic traditions and she started using Japanese paper for her water colour paintings with the background being left blank.
In the 1980s she visited Japan on a number of occasions and many of her paintings at the time showed the influence of these trips.
Elizabeth Blackadder also travelled to the America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Souvenirs of her travels would appear in many of her paintings.
Honours
She was appointed an OBEOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1982, promoted to DBE in 2003.
In 2001 she was appointed Her Majesty’s Painter and Limner in Scotland
Painter and Limner
The Painter and Limner is a member of the Royal Household in Scotland. Appointments of Court Painters are recorded from 1581 onwards, and the post of Painter and Limner was created in 1702 for George Ogilvie. The duties included "drawing pictures of our [the Monarch's] person or of our successors...
.
She has been awarded honorary doctorates
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
by four universities.
External links
- Glasgow Print Studio, Elizabeth Blackadder. Works for sale.