From Orchids to Cats: The Artistic Diary of Dame Elizabeth Blackadder

By Anna Chan

Elizabeth Blackadder, Cats and Flowers, 1980. Colour lithograph on paper, 62.00 x 83.70 cm

Born in Falkirk 1931, Elizabeth Blackadder was a painter and a printmaker. She grew up in a family which valued her education and passion: her father was an engineer, and he was the first one to teach her to draw, but he died when she was only 10. During World War Two, as Falkirk was part of the region Britian bombed by Germany, Blackadder was sent away at a young age to her grandmother on Holy Loch and spent most of her childhood alone. When gardening for her grandmother, she developed the hobby of collecting and pressing different flowers into albums, meticulously labelling and memorising the full Latin names of all the local wildflowers. This interest continued into her adulthood and influenced her art.

After high school, she attended the Edinburgh College of Art, where she studied early Byzantine art and graduated with first-class degree. She was awarded a travelling scholarship by Royal Academy of Art which allow her to discover her passion through travelling. Her travelling experience became an integral part of her art, taking inspiration from the artists and art techniques she saw in France, Italy, Japan, America to created her unique style of landscapes and still-lives paintings.

Blackadder, Tuscan Landscape, Impruneta, 1955-1956. Watercolour on paper, 50.8 x 68.6cm, The National Galleries

In 1950s-60s, Blackadder travelled extensively around Europe. In her earlier career, she focused on mainly painting landscapes. During this period, she was still in the experimental stage of her own artistic style, but we can see the influence of Fauvism and Post-Impressionism in her landscapes. She painted The Tuscan Landscape (1955-1956) during her time abroad in Italy, where she used rough brushstrokes to construct the rural landscape, and paid little regard to the conventional rules of perspective and depth. Later in the 60s, she went to France where she learnt about French artist Henri Matisse, who inspired her to use lighter and more vibrant colours.

Blackadder, Orchids and Pears, 1985. Watercolour and pencil on paper, 42.5 x 53cm, The National Galleries

In the 80s, she visited Japan on multiple occasions and was fascinated by the Eastern techniques and cultural objects. Here, we can see a distinctive shift in art style compared to her earlier landscapes. Her subject matter shifted to still life, particularly flowers and exotic objects. In the Orchids and Pears (1985), the orchids are painted with a sense of delicacy and vitality, the watercolour medium helping to bring out the softness of the flowers. She also included two Chinese pears on a plate on the right side, and pieces of objects with different patterns. From her journey to Japan, Blackadder was inspired by the principles of Zen, where much of the emphasis is placed on the “negative” empty space of the canvas. Black adder stated that “the space between the flowers is as important as the flowers themselves.” Her early childhood passion in botany can be seen reflected in into her still-lives, and she also incorporated many diverse souvenirs she acquired from her travelling, from Japanese fans to Chinese boxes.

Blackadder, Fred Black and White Cat, 1995, Postage Stamp, Royal Mail Group Ltd, UK.

Dame Elizabeth was also famous for drawing cats, devoting many of her paintings to her favourite cats, including this one titled Fred Black and White Cat (1995). Like most of her other paintings, she depicted a cat peacefully napping, bringing a sense of mellow warmth and comfort to viewers. Sometimes she showed the cats playing or resting behind flowers and different objects. While her drawings seem like simple scenes of cats and flowers, Blackadder paid great attention to rendering the precise details.

 
Blackadder, Black cat and Irises, 2002. Watercolour on Paper, 52 x 61cm

 Elizabeth Blackadder was the first woman to be academician for both the Royal Academy of Arts in London and the Royal Scottish Academy. She was awarded an Order of the British Empire and received the title Dame Blackadder in 2003 for her contribution to art. In 2001, she was appointed Her Majesty’s Painter and Limner in Scotland. Her works were deeply admired and beloved by the public, some of her paintings were featured on a set of Royal Mail stamps, while many other works were reproduced into museum souvenirs and cards.

Blackadder was a very private person, yet her paintings serve almost as a personal diary, both tender and poetic. They record her growth as an artist, learning and adapting as she travelled to America, Europe, and Asia. Later in life, her paintings increasingly become dominated by still-lives and cats. She avoided giving deep meaning and analysis into her art, leaving them as simply drawing of cats and objects that accompany her and surround her in her house. Elizabeth Blackadder led a long and peaceful life, she passed away in 2021, aged 89.

Bibliography

Bedworth, Candy. “Elizabeth Blackadder’s Cozy Cats.” DailyArt Magazine, October 28, 2024. https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/elizabeth-blackadders-cosy-cats/. 

Darwent, Charles. “Dame Elizabeth Blackadder Obituary.” The Guardian, August 25, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/aug/25/dame-elizabeth-blackadder-obituary. 

“Elizabeth Blackadder RSA - Overview.” Royal Scottish Academy. Accessed February 24, 2025. https://www.royalscottishacademy.org/artists/350-elizabeth-blackadder-rsa/overview/. 

“Elizabeth Blackadder | National Galleries of Scotland.” The National Galleries of Scotland. Accessed February 26, 2025. https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/artists/elizabeth-blackadder. 

“National Galleries of Scotland | National Galleries of Scotland.” The National Galleries of Scotland. Accessed February 24, 2025. https://www.nationalgalleries.org/. 

“National Galleries of Scotland | National Galleries of Scotland.” The National Galleries of Scotland. Accessed February 24, 2025. https://www.nationalgalleries.org/.