Barbara Rae RA

Born: 10 December 1943, Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland, UK
Elected RA: 29 May 1996
Category of Membership: Painter

Dr Barbara Rae RA, Broadhaven Barbara Rae studied at Edinburgh College of Art from 1961 to 1965 where she was awarded a travel scholarship, taking her to work in France and Spain in 1966. She attended Moray House College of Education and taught in Edinburgh until 1972. She went on to Lecture in Drawing, Painting and Printmaking at Aberdeen College of Education from 1972 to 1974 and Lectured in drawing and Painting at Glasgow School of Art from 1975 to 1996.

Rae’s work has been included in many solo and group exhibitions both nationally and internationally. Her first solo show was held in 1967 at the New 57 Gallery, Edinburgh. In 1994 and 1999, she won tapestry commissions for The Festival Theatre, Edinburgh and for the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh, respectively (both carried out by the Edinburgh Tapestry Company). Rae’s work is included in many private collections in Britain, Europe and the USA, as well as in many public and corporate collections.

Among Rae’s many awards are Major Scottish Arts Council Awards (1975, 1981), Guthrie Medal, Royal Scottish Academy (1977), Royal Scottish Academy Sir William Gillies Travel Award (1983) Calouste Gulbenkian Printmaking Award (1983) and Hunting Group Prizewinner (1990).

Barbara Rae RA, Valentia Shore Rae was elected President of the Society of Scottish Artists in 1983. She was made a Member of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1992 (ARSA 1980) and a Royal Academician in 1996. She has been a Member of the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland since 1995 and was a Member of the Board of the British School at Rome in 1998. In 1999 she was awarded a CBE and received an Honorary Doctorate from Napier University, Edinburgh. Rae lives and works in Edinburgh.

Read an interview with Barbara Rae in RA Magazine Spring 2010

Recent solo exhibitions
2013 Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
Dundas Gallery, Edinburgh
Adam Gallery, London
2012 Richmond Hill Gallery
2011 Richmond Hill Gallery
Adam Gallery, London
2010 Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
Dundas Gallery, London
Adam Gallery, London
Sir Hugh Casson Room, Royal Academy of Arts
2009 Richmond Hill Gallery, London
Adam Gallery, London
2008 CCA Galleries, Surrey
Adam Gallery, Bath
2006 Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
2005 Jorgensen Fine Art, Dublin
2004 North House Gallery, Manningtree
2002 Art First, London
2003 Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
2001 Art First, London
2000 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
1999 Art First, London
1998 Galleri Galtung, Oslo
The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
1997 Glasgow Print Studio
Graphic Studio Workshop, Dublin
Edinburgh Printmakers Workshop
Art First, London
1996 Waxlander Gallery, Santa Fé, New Mexico, USA
Art First, London
Bohun Gallery, Henley on Thames
1995 Jorgensen Fine Art, Dublin
The Scottish Gallery, Aitken Dott, Edinburgh
1994 Harewood House, Leeds
Art First, London
1993 Highland Regional Council, touring North of Scotland
The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
Jorgensen Fine Art, Dublin
Hunt Jennings Gallery, London
1992 William Jackson Gallery, London
Glasgow Print Studio
1991 Perth Museum and Art Gallery
1990 The Scottish Gallery, Aitken Dott, Edinburgh

Public collections
Aberdeen Art Gallery
Argyll Schools Collection
Birmingham City Art Gallery
British Museum, London
City Art Centre, Edinburgh
Contemporary Arts Society
Derby Museum and Art Gallery
Dundee Art Gallery
Edinburgh City Schools Collection
Edinburgh Festival Theatre
Gracefield Arts Centre, Dumfries
Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow
Isle of Man Arts Council
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museums, Glasgow
Leeds City Education Department
Lillie Art Gallery, Milngavie
Metropolitan Borough of Wigan Collection
Maclaurin Art Gallery, Ayr
Museum of Art for Women, Washington DC, USA
Perth Art Gallery and Museum
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
University of York
University of Glasgow
Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester

Contact details for further information
Email membershipoffice@royalacademy.org.uk

• Royal Academy of Arts