Barbara Rae CBE RA

Born in 1943 in Falkirk in Scotland, Barbara Rae is a highly acclaimed painter whose work has been exhibited world wide. She studied at the Edinburgh College of Art from 1961-65, where she was awarded a travel scholarship. She taught at Ainslie Park School in Edinburgh and Portobello High School prior to taking up a lecturing position at Aberdeen College of Education from 1972-4. The bulk of her teaching career was spent as a lecturer in Drawing and Painting at Glasgow School of Art(appointed 1975). In 1977 she won the Guthrie Medal and in 1983 Rae became the President of the Society of Scottish Artists and also was awarded the Royal Scottish Academy Sir William Gillies Travel Award and the Calouste Gulbenkian printmaking award, In 1995 she was appointed member of the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland, in 1992she was made a member of the Royal Scottish Academy and in 1996 she became a Royal Academician. Barbara was awarded a CBE in 1999 and received an honorary Doctorate from Napier University (Edinburgh) the same year. Her printmaking has been integral to her artistic activity since her student days. The way she conceives and works on her monoprints, screenprints and etchings complements and informs her approach to painting. The discipline imposed by these media and the unique opportunities offered by them create a set of possibilities, which stimulate her vision of the world, whether she is drawing, painting,making prints or simply observing.