EDINBURGH.- The Royal Scottish Academy is presenting 'A Journey Shared' exploring the shared lives and work of Elizabeth Blackadder RSA and John Houston RSA during the Edinburgh Festival month. The exhibition focuses on their travels, research and studio practices, and accompanies the recent RSA Blackadder Houston Bequest, an important, generous gift from the artists to the Academy.

The exhibition will be an unparalleled insight into the work and lives of these two hugely influential Scottish artists. Avid travellers, the exhibition will trace the shared research interests and symbiotic practices of Blackadder and Houston. It will include works from across the breadth of both artists' career, with early drawings and paintings on view alongside masterworks from their mature periods.

Blackadder and Houston met whilst studying at Edinburgh College of Art and married in 1956. The exhibition will commence with Blackadder's earliest known self-portrait from 1951 alongside her early portrait of Houston. Other rarely seen works include Houston's studies of fishermen and miners in Methil and Buckhaven as well as panoramic views of the Italian countryside from the artists' first shared travels in Europe. The exhibition will continue to explore the artists' many trips to the Continent with works from Greece, France, Portugal and Spain before turning to look at major bodies of work based on travels in Japan and the USA.

Houston's fascination with the Bass Rock and the coastline will be explored in an extensive set of works examining the subject. Elsewhere, significant examples of Blackadder's enduringly popular botanical and cat studies will be on display. Objects from the artists' studios collected over many years of travel, now kept for posterity in the RSA Blackadder Houston Study Collection, will also be on display.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a new publication featuring writings by Alexander Moffat RSA, Stuart Duffin RSA and other Royal Scottish Academicians who worked alongside Blackadder and Houston. Artworks will be available for sale.

'A Journey Shared' will be an unparalleled insight into the work and lives of these two hugely influential Scottish artists. Avid travellers, the exhibition will trace the shared research interests and symbiotic practices of Blackadder and Houston. It will include works from across the breadth of both artists' career, with early drawings and paintings on view alongside masterworks from their mature periods.

Dame Elizabeth Blackadder RSA RA (1931-2021)

Dame Elizabeth Blackadder RSA is widely recognised as one of Scotland's most significant contemporary artists. Born in Falkirk, she studied at Edinburgh College of Art under the tutelage of Sir Robin Philipson PPRSA and William Gillies RSA and lectured at the college from 1962 until her retirement in 1986. Elected as a member of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1972 and the Royal Academy in 1976, she was the first woman to become a member of both institutions. In 2001 Blackadder was appointed Her Majesty's Painter and Limner in Scotland. Blackadder's sensitivity to her surroundings inspired still lifes and landscapes, largely executed in oil and watercolour, but she was also well-known for her work in a variety of printmaking techniques.

John Houston RSA OBE (1930-2008)

John Houston OBE RSA was born in Buckhaven, Fife. After a brief professional football career, Houston attended Edinburgh College of Art where he met his future wife, Elizabeth Blackadder. Joining the staff at the college in 1955, Houston was a dedicated teacher and became Deputy Head of the School of Painting and Drawing, holding the position until his retirement in 1989. He was elected to the Royal Scottish Academy in 1972, and appointed OBE in 1990. Although Houston and Blackadder travelled extensively, Houston is best known for his landscapes inspired by the east coast of Scotland, especially the Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth.

The Royal Scottish Academy
'A Journey Shared'
July 29th, 2023 - September 10th, 2023