Falkirk is not twinned with any Japanese town. Sandwiched between Glasgow and Edinburgh in central Scotland, Falkirk is not known for having strong connections with the Land of the Rising Sun, though Japanese visitors have certainly stopped to marvel at its Wheel and Kelpies. But there was a time when Made In Falkirk meant something in Japan. It was when Elizabeth was a little girl in the 1930s, and even before she was born. While her mother was teaching Domestic Science at the local school her father, Thomas, and her grandfather were engineers, travelling to the Far East, showing the engineering expertise Falkirk had to offer.
The heavy industry of family discussions when the globetrotters returned were of far less concern to Elizabeth than the contents of her grandfather’s suitcase. She knew that on her next visit she would discover the likes of which she would never find in Alexander’s Stores on the High Street. What fascinated, what captivated, what mesmerised her even more than the ornaments he brought back from Italy, France and Spain, were the crafts and curiosities he carried all the way from Japan. To Elizabeth they were jewels of beauty, so delicate, so simple, so uncomplicated.
Unexpectedly, Elizabeth made another youthful discovery to match, even exceed the elegance of her grandfather’s Japanese collection. At the start of the war after the shock and sadness of her father dying, she was sent to live with her grandmother in Dunoon on the Firth of Clyde. Willingly or not, Elizabeth was pressed into gardening service for her grandmother’s friends, but soon found a delight in flowers. It wasn’t enough to enjoy colour, scent, shape or the miracles of growth and the insect life they sustained. Elizabeth had to collect, press and label them. More than that, it was essential to learn the Latin name of each, and to reproduce their beauty and fragility as faithfully as she could by her own hand. Elizabeth began to paint.
In art, she made the life-changing discovery of all that she could be, all that she wanted to be. Before the age of 20, Elizabeth had not only found her vocation but was certain of it. For the next 70 years she was always happiest when she could get on with converting botanical beauty, curious cats, Koi carp, glorious gardens – whatever caught her eye and imagination – into paintings of extraordinary delicacy and vitality. She cared far less for talking about the thought processes or decision-making in art. Let my paintings speak for themselves was all she really wanted to say.
Graduated in 1954 from the Edinburgh College of Art, married in 1956 to John, a fellow artist, exhibited at the Scottish Gallery in 1961, Elizabeth marvelled year after year at the impression the world made upon her. Nowhere more so than Japan where everything from the shrines to the gardens of Kyoto, to the watercolours, even to the quality of the paper and brushes, matched her own spirit of calm creativity, her appreciation of what to put in a painting, and what to leave out. How often Elizabeth reflected on the Japanese wonders of her grandfather’s suitcase and where they would lead her, no-one can say. What is not in doubt is the special gift possessed by the girl from Falkirk who lectured at the Edinburgh College of Art for nearly 25 years; the flower girl who became the first woman to be elected a member of the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Academy. Dame Elizabeth Blackadder OBE also achieved the distinction of being Her Majesty’s Painter and Limner in Scotland.
No-one doubted either that Dame Elizabeth longed for aspiring artists to travel, to learn, to capture what made an impression on them. If they came from Falkirk and it was botany and Japan that made the deepest impression, well and good, but no matter if not. What did matter was creating the opportunity for them to realise their vocation as artists, as she had done.
Before Elizabeth died in August 2021 at the age of 89, Elizabeth made sure they would have their chance. She bequeathed more than £7 million to the Royal Scottish Academy to fund prizes, bursaries and travel awards, specifying that at least 60 artists would benefit from her bequest each year.
It is not only Elizabeth Blackadder’s art that will make a lasting impression.