A new exhibition of Elizabeth Blackadder's work at the Jenna Burlingham Gallery in Hampshire showcases a less familiar side of the Scottish artist, focusing on chilly landscapes and pared-back still life compositions. Most of the pieces are exhibited for the first time.
Early works include a series of Italian landscapes rendered in gouache and watercolour in the 1950s, painted after Blackadder won a travelling scholarship. Based in Florence, she would take a bus into the countryside to paint through a bitter winter in postwar Italy. Art writer Anna Brady noted that the inky Tuscan landscapes almost convey the chill on her fingertips.
The still life oil paintings from the 1960s and 1970s feature personal objects such as a coffee pot, with compositions becoming increasingly refined and minimal. Gallery director Jenna Burlingham said the exhibition highlights works from the first two decades of Blackadder's career, showing a less well-known side of the artist.
Blackadder, who died in 2021 aged 89, was the first woman elected to both the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Academy of Arts. The exhibition, titled 'Quiet Observations, Landscapes and Interiors 1955 to 1975', runs from 4 June to 4 July. Admission is free and paintings are for sale.
