Born 1931, Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland. Died 23 August 2021.

Elizabeth Blackadder studied Fine Art at Edinburgh University and Edinburgh College of Art from 1949-1954. She was awarded the Carnegie travelling scholarship after graduation which allowed her to tour in Europe, the first of many trips abroad. The following year another scholarship enabled her to spend nine months in Italy drawing and painting. She later visited America and Japan, both of which were to influence her work in different ways.
The dominant subject matter for Blackadder was still life based on careful observation of familiar objects such as coffee jugs, plates, oriental rugs, toys etc. She often dispensed with conventional perspective, presenting things as if viewed from above, creating intricate patterns of shape and colour arranged within the pictorial field of the canvas. In the nineteen-seventies and -eighties botanical studies predominated, revealing the virtuosic draughtsmanship she had developed early in her career.

From 1949-54 Elizabeth Blackadder studied at Edinburgh University and Edinburgh College of Art. She was the winner of travel scholarships in 1954-55 which allowed her to visit Mediterranean countries to draw and paint. In 1956 she began teaching part-time at Edinburgh College of Art. She was elected to the Royal Scottish Academy in 1972 and to the Royal Academy in 1976. Although best known for watercolours, her work embraced textiles, stained glass and lithography.

Guardian Obituary.

Still Life with Lily and Flute