It was with much sadness that we heard the news of the passing of artist Dame Elizabeth Blackadder this week. We wished to spend a moment remembering this respected artist, whom we were fortunate to exhibit in Hampshire two years ago.
Working with Blackadder’s archivist and guest exhibition curator Annabel Stansfeld, we created the exhibition Elizabeth Blackadder: From the Artist’s Studio, which toured to our Winchester and Basingstoke galleries. This special exhibition was drawn mainly from the artist’s own archive, spanning all six decades of her career. Around 30 works were on display between January and June 2019, including loans from the Fleming-Wyfold Art Foundation in London, Glasgow Print Studio and the Scottish Gallery.
The exhibition was an enormous privilege, which delighted our audiences.
Dame Elizabeth Blackadder had a long and distinguished career and was one of our greatest artists. She was one of the first women to be elected both to the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Academy, and was given the prestigious title of Her Majesty’s Painter and Limner in Scotland in 2001. She had a tireless devotion to her practice as an artist, staying true to her own path.
