One of Scotland’s most popular artists is to receive the much-coveted Edinburgh Award.
Elizabeth Blackadder, who is the Queen’s Painter in Scotland, will be presented with an engraved Loving Cup at a ceremony in early 2013.
She will also have a mould of her handprints taken, which will be engraved – and immortalised – on a flagstone in the City Chambers quadrangle.
Lord Provost Donald Wilson said: “The Edinburgh Award enables the people of Edinburgh to pay a lasting tribute to someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the city through their work or achievements.
“I am delighted to present this year’s award to Elizabeth Blackadder who has devoted her life to education and the creation of wonderful pictures that bring pleasure to all who view them.
“She has enriched the lives of Edinburgh’s citizens and those of countless visitors to this city and is a deserved winner of one of our most prestigious civic awards.”
The first woman to hold the post of Queen’s Painter and Limner in Scotland, Mrs Blackadder is also a Dame of the British Empire. She was honoured last year by the National Galleries of Scotland with a career retrospective exhibition of her work.
Following her education at Edinburgh College of Art and the University of Edinburgh, she spent her working life in Edinburgh while exhibiting widely with major shows in London, Florence, Berlin and Tokyo, greatly enhancing her reputation and that of the City of Edinburgh.
The Award decision was taken by a judging panel chaired by the Lord Provost, with representatives from all political groups on the City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations Council and Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce.
First launched in 2007, the Award is a way for Edinburgh citizens to pay a lasting tribute to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the city through their achievements.
Elizabeth Blackadder biography in brief
1931 Born in Falkirk, Scotland
1936–1943 Strone Village School & Dunoon Grammar School
1943–1949 Falkirk High School
1949–1954 Joint fine art degree, 1st class hons, Edinburgh University & ECA
1954 Andrew Grant Post Graduate Scholarship
1955–1956 Travelling Scholarship – Travelled in Italy
1956 Married John Houston
1958 Librarian, Fine Art Department, Edinburgh University
1962 Full time teacher, ECA
Awards
1963 ARSA
1971 ARA
1972 RSA
1976 RA
1982 OBE
1988 D.Litt, Heriot Watt University
1990 Hon Doctorate, University of Edinburgh
1992 Hon Member, RSW
1994 Hon Fellow, Royal Society of Edinburgh
1997 Hon Doctorate, Aberdeen University. Further Hon Doctorates: Glasgow, St Andrews, Stirling and Strathclyde Universities
2003 Dame
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Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
