Elizabeth Blackadder, who is the Queen’s Painter in Scotland, is to receive this year's Edinburgh Award, joining previous winners Ian Rankin, JK Rowling, Sir Chris Hoy, George Kerr and Professor Peter Higgs.
Blackadder will be presented with an engraved Loving Cup at a ceremony in early 2013 and will also have a mould of her handprints taken, which will be engraved – and immortalised – on a flagstone in the City Chambers quadrangle.
The award is made to individuals who have made "a positive impact on the city and gained national and international recognition for Edinburgh".
“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," said Lord Provost Donald Wilson.
“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.
One of her paintings (above) also appears on First Minister Alex Salmond's christmas cards this year.
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
- 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
Previous recipients of the Edinburgh Award are:
- Ian Rankin OBE (Presented 2007)
- JK Rowling OBE (Presented 2008)
- Sir Chris Hoy MBE (Presented 2009)
- George Kerr CBE (Edinburgh Award for 2010, presented 2011)
- Professor Peter Higgs (Presented 2012)