Anne Redpath OBE RA

Anne Redpath was born in Galashiels, the daughter of a tweed designer and this no doubt influenced her interest in colour and texture. After her marriage she lived in France for a number of years and it was not until she returned to Scotland in 1934 that she fully resumed her career. Her subjects were mainly still lifes and landscapes inspired by her frequent visits to France, Spain, Italy and Portugal. Her later works included a number of church interiors painted in a rich, heavy impasto. Pigna is in northern Italy, near the border with Monaco.

From the mid-1940s onwards Redpath’s works showed an increasing tendency towards abstraction. She was elected an associate of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1947 and in 1952 was the first woman to be elected as a full member. She exhibited regularly at the Royal Scottish Academy, the Society of Scottish Artists, the Royal Glasgow Institute and, from 1946, at the Royal Academy. During her lifetime she exhibited more than 400 works at public exhibitions. In 1960 she was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy having already been awarded the OBE in 1955, the same year that she was awarded an honorary doctorate from Edinburgh University.