We’d like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Royal Scottish Academician Barbara Rae following the announcement of her Damehood in the New Years Honours list for her services to art.
Educated at Morrison’s Academy in Crieff, Dame Barbara Rae RA RSA studied painting at Edinburgh College of Art where she was awarded a travel scholarship, taking her to work in France and Spain. Rae’s inspirations are with the people, locations and local histories of the places she encounters. She records time passing, how the land itself bears witness to human presence and the changes over time. Renowned internationally for her vibrant use of colour, she is celebrated as both a painter and master printmaker. She became an Associate Academician in 1980 and a full Member of the Academy in 1992.
Barbara Rae, Doorway – Trevélez
Rae’s Diploma work, Doorway – Trevélez, is one of several paintings inspired by Spain that she produced in 1992. These works ‘were done as a result of a two-month stay in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada in Spain. The region is known as the Alpujarras. I stayed in a village called Capileira and traveled around this area making drawings.’ Rae continues to revisit specific locations to view and capture the ever-evolving environment.
Extensive travelling has informed much of her work, including a remarkable series of journeys of discovery into the Arctic, following in the footsteps of her namesake, the Orcadian explorer Dr. John Rae. The resulting body of paintings, monotypes, and intaglio prints were showcased in our 2018 exhibition, Barbara Rae: The Northwest Passage, representing Rae’s deep-rooted fascination with the history of place.
Barbara Rae: The Northwest Passage
Looking ahead to 2026, we’re delighted to be exhibiting Rae’s work once again during our Bicentenary celebrations. Building on the success of The Northwest Passage, this new anniversary exhibition will showcase Rae’s Antarctic explorations, drawing on the artist’s experiences of tracing the ill-fated journey of the explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton during the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (1914–17).
Explore Dame Barbara Rae RA RSA's work further
