About
Victoria Crowe OBE DHC FRSE MA(RCA) RSA RSW
1945 Born Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey
1961-65 Kingston School of Art
1965-68 Royal College of Art, London
1968 David Murray Landscape Scholarship
1968-98 Lecturer in Drawing & Painting, Edinburgh College of Art
1969, 75 Scottish Arts Council Bursaries
1973 Anne Redpath Award
1981 Glasgow Herald Painting Competition Prize winner
Scottish Arts Council Printmaking Bursary
1982 Elected member of The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour
1987 Elected Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy
Winner of the Daler/Rowney Prize for Watercolour, Royal Academy, London
1988 Hunting Group Major Award Winner
1991 Elected Associate of the Royal Watercolour Society
Major Award winner (Chris Beetles Prize), Royal Watercolour Society Open Exhibition, London
1992 Invited by Artists for Nature Foundation, funded by World Wildlife Fund, to join a group of International artists working on a conservation project in Poland.
Sir William Gillies Bequest, Royal Scottish Academy, for travel and study in Italy.
1994 Invited by ANF to work on a conservation project in the Extremadura, Spain.
1997 Commissioned by Danish National Portrait Gallery to paint the Danish Resistance leader, Ole Lippmann for the 20th Century Collection of portraits at Frederiksborg Castle, Copenhagen
Invited by Glasgow Museums and Art Galleries to take part in the Tiger,Tiger project at Bandhavgarh National Park, India.
2000 Invited artist for shortlist of Jesus 2000 commission, Glasgow Museum and Art Gallery
2002 Benton Humfries Award, Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries, London.
2004-7 Senior Visiting Scholar, St Catherine‘s College, Cambridge University.
2004 Sir William Gillies Award, Royal Scottish Academy, for travel and research
Awarded OBE for Services to Art
2008 Commission of tapestry, Two Views, Dovecot tapestry company, Edinburgh
2009 Awarded Doctor Honoris Causa (DHC) University of Aberdeen.
2010 Elected Fellow of The Royal Society of Edinburgh
2011/2012 Commission for a major suite of paintings for a redesigned period house in the Scottish Borders.
2012 Commission of tapestry, Large Tree Group, Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh.
Centenary Exhibition, Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh
Begins showing with Browse and Darby, Ltd, London.
Deputy President of The Royal Scottish Academy.
2013 Shortlisted Artist for public art commission, the Marble Arch Project, architect Rafael Viñoly.
Shortlisted Artist and subsequently awarded major commission to design a tapestry for the new Hall for the Leathersellers Company, London. Architect Eric Parry RA. Tapestry woven at Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh. Installation to be completed January 2017.
Fleece to Fibre, the weaving of Victoria Crowe's Large Tree Group tapestry. Festival Exhibition at Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh. The tapestry was subsequently purchased and donated to the National Museum of Scotland.
2013-2015 Vice President of the Royal Scottish Academy.
2014 Start the Week, BBC Radio 4, presented by Andrew Marr. Episode Sense of Place with invited guests Ian Bostridge, Victoria Crowe, Joanne Parker and Philip Marsden.
2015 Invited speaker at Europa Nostra, Cambridge University.
Invited Artist Residency, Dumfries House.
Large Tree Group tapestry donated to National Museum of Scotland by Sir Angus Grossart, where it is now on exhibition in the Grand Hall.
2016 Acquisition of a group of work by The National Galleries of Scotland.
Donation of the painting Large Tree Group by its original owners to the National Galleries of Scotland.
The Sir William Gilles Research Award, Royal Scottish Academy.
2017 Collaboration with opera singer Matthew Rose and pianist Gary Matthewman on a production of Winterreise a Parallel Journey, performed at the Wigmore Hall, London, and The Britten Studio, Snape Maltings.
2017 The installation of the 40 metre Leathersellers' Tapestry in their new Hall in the City of London. This commission took three years to complete.
The Artist lives and works in the Scottish Borders and Venice.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
1969 Waterhouse Gallery, London
1970 The Scottish Gallery (Aitken Dott), Edinburgh
1971 Waterhouse Gallery, London
1973 The Scottish Gallery (Aitken Dott), Edinburgh
1975 Lantern Gallery, Manchester
Loomshop Gallery, Lower Largo
1977 The Scottish Gallery (Aitken Dott), Edinburgh
1982 The Scottish Gallery (Aitken Dott), Edinburgh
1983 Thackeray Gallery, London
1985 Thackeray Gallery, London
1986 Mercury Gallery, Edinburgh
1988 Abbot Hall, Kendal
From Carlops to Corinth, The Fine Art Society, Edinburgh and Glasgow
1989 Thackeray Gallery, London Border Connections, The Bruton Gallery, Somerset
1991 Thackeray Gallery, London
1993 The Bruton Gallery, Bath
Ancrum Gallery, Borders Festival
1994 Thackeray Gallery, London, (catalogue with introduction by Mary Taubman)
1995 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, (catalogue with introduction by Dr Duncan Thomson, ISBN 18726941996)
1997 Corrymella Scott Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne, (catalogue with introduction by Mary Sara, ISBN 0-9525985-3-1)
1998 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
Accomplished Journeys, Bruton Gallery, Leeds, (catalogue with introduction by Derek Hyatt)
1999 Thackeray Gallery, London, (catalogue with introduction by Clare Henry)
2000 Cambridge Contemporary Art
A Shepherd‘s Life, Paintings of Jenny Armstrong by Victoria Crowe, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, Exhibition curated by the SNPG, with accompanying book, “A Shepherd’s Life, Paintings of Jenny Armstrong” by Victoria Crowe, Julie Lawson and Mary Taubman, National Galleries of Scotland, ISBN 1 903278 02 3.
A Shepherd’s Life, related works, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
2001 Victoria Crowe New Works, Edinburgh Festival Exhibition, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh (catalogue with introduction by Iain Gale) Thackeray Gallery, London
2001/2002 A Shepherd‘s Life, Touring, Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate; Duff House, Aberdeenshire; Inverness Museum and Art Gallery; Highland Folk Museum; Swanston Gallery, Thurso; St Fergus Gallery, Wick; Hatton Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne University.
2002 Aldeburgh Festival Exhibition, Gallery 44 (Thackeray Gallery)
Bohun Gallery, Henley on Thames.
2003 Alchemy, Drumcroon, Wigan Education Authority Arts Centre
Thackeray Gallery, London, (catalogue published by Thackeray Gallery)
2004 Italian Sketchbook, Works on Paper, Thackeray Gallery, London, (catalogue published by Thackeray Gallery)
The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh (catalogue with introduction by Lynne Green) ISBN 1-905146-00-0
2005 On Reflection, Thackeray Gallery, London. Catalogue published by Thackeray Gallery ISBN 0-9547006-8-6
2006 Works on Paper - Landscapes from Italy and Scotland, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
2007 Reflections on Venice, Bohun Gallery, Henley on Thames
Thackeray Gallery, London
Plant Memory, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh (catalogue with introduction by Professor Bill Scott and commentary by Professor David Ingram ISBN 978-0-905783-11-6)
2008 Victoria Crowe, Recent Work, Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
2009 Overview: Paintings by Victoria Crowe. Catalogue with introduction by Patrick Bourne.
"A Shepherd's Life", Paintings of Jenny Armstrong by Victoria Crowe, The Fleming Collection, London. Catalogue with introduction by John Leighton and James Holloway, ISBN 190378 02 3.
2010 Reflection, Edinburgh Festival Exhibition, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh (catalogue with introduction by Duncan Macmillan ISBN 978-1-905146-43-7)
Collected Journeys, The Bohun Gallery, Henley on Thames.
2012 Victoria Crowe, New Work, Browse and Darby, Ltd, London, September/ October.
Ti Sorprendo, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, December. (Catalogue with introduction by Guy Peploe, ISBN: 978-1-905146-71-0)
2013 Fleece To Fibre: The Making of The Large Tree Group Tapestry, Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh, Festival exhibition, August/September. Subsequently toured to Inverness Museum and Gallery; The Victoria Tapestry Studio, Melbourne; and The Fleming Collection, London in 2015.
2014 Real and Reflected, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, Festival Exhibition; catalogue introduction by Peter Davidson (ISBN 978-1-905146-99-4)
Permanence and Fragility, Paintings and Drawings by Victoria Crowe, Ruskin Library, University of Lancaster, Curated by Stephen Wildman.
Winter Sequence, works on paper, Browse and Darby, London
2016 Light on the Landscape, new works on paper from the invited artist's residency at Dumfries House; catalogue introduction by Guy Peploe (ISBN 978-1-91067-46-2)
2017 Browse and Darby Ltd, London
Selected Group Exhibitions
1969 Richard Demarco Gallery, Edinburgh
1979 The Plant, Scottish Arts Council Touring Exhibition
Interiors, Touring Exhibition, Lincolnshire, Humberside
Artist and Teacher, The Fine Art Society, Edinburgh and Glasgow
1980 Scottish Festival Week, Ridderkerk, Holland with The Scottish Gallery
1981 Contemporary Art from Scotland, Touring Exhibition, catalogue published by The Scottish Gallery
The Stormy Blast, MacRobert Art Centre, Stirling
1983 Etching and Other Intaglio Techniques, Scottish Arts Council Touring Exhibition
1984 Different Kinds of Good Weather, Scottish Arts Council Touring Exhibition
Portrait 84, National Portrait Gallery, London
Contemporary Scottish Drawing, The Fine Art Society
Light from the Window, National Galleries of Scotland
1984/85 Portraits on Paper, Scottish Arts Council Touring Exhibition, catalogue by James Holloway
1985 Dublin/Edinburgh, Festival, Exhibition, Edinburgh College of Art
1988 Hunting Group Exhibition, Winners’ Selection
1988, 90, 93 Sunday Times/Singer Friedlander Watercolour Exhibition
1989, 91, 93, 97 The Morrison Scottish Portrait Award Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
1991 Scottish Art in the 20th Century, RWEA Bristol, (catalogue ISBN 1 872971 21 0)
1992 International Watercolour Exhibition with the RWS, Seville, Bilbao & Barcelona
150th Anniversary Exhibition, The Scottish Gallery
1993 Portrait of a Living Marsh, Touring Exhibition opening in Zeist, Netherlands and touring Europe and USA, ‘Portrait of a Living Marsh’, WWF, ISBN 9066110538
1994 The Edinburgh School, The Scottish Gallery
1994 Witness of Existence, Obala Gallery, Sarajevo, catalogue published by Kingston University Press
1995 Costillo de Soutomaior Pontevidia, Spain. Exhibition of work by Edinburgh College of Art Painting School staff.
Artists for Nature in Extremadura, Zeist, Netherlands. Touring Europe and USA till 1997, (book, ISBN 00-9526236-0-9)
1996 Scottish Print Open - Glasgow Print Studio, and Edinburgh Printmakers (catalogue)
The Discerning Eye, (Invited Artist), Mall Galleries, London
1998 Galerie Susanne Hojriis, Copenhagen
500 Years of Scottish Portraiture, The National History Museum, Frederiksborg, Denmark
1999 Scotland’s Art, City Art Centre, Edinburgh Festival Exhibition
The Flower Show: Flowers in Art in the 20th Century, Harewood House.
’The Flower Show’, Jane Sellars ISBN 1 899928
2000 Wild Tigers of Bandhavgarh, Burrell Collection, Glasgow
Jesus 2000, Glasgow Museum of Modern Art
Northern Highlights, Bruton Gallery in Cork Street, London (catalogue)
Marie R., Bourne Fine Art, Edinburgh
2000, 02, 03 The Discerning Eye, (Invited Artist), Mall Galleries,London
2001 Narcissus, 20th Century Self Portraits, SNPG
Mirror, Mirror, Self Portraits by Women Artists, NPG, London, touring, (catalogue ISBN 1855-14-3232)
2003 30 years of the Bohun Gallery, Henley on Thames (catalogue ISBN 0-9507212-3-9)
2004 Modern Women, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh
2005 The Healing Touch, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh
Art London, The Scottish Gallery
Festival Connections, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
2006 Divided Selves, The Scottish Self-Portrait from the 17th Century to the present, Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh and The Fleming Collection, London (catalogue, Bill Hare and Polly Bielecka, ISBN 0-9545137-3-8)
2007 Home and Garden, Geffrye Museum, London, October 2007 - February 2008 (catalogue, edited by David Dewing, ISBN 5 037701 000065)
Curious Eye, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
Edinburgh College of Art centenary exhibition, City Art Centre, Edinburgh
2010 Portrait of a Gallery, The Scottish Gallery (catalogue with introduction by Guy Peploe ISBN 978-1-905146-42-0)
2012 Art in the Garden, Edinburgh City Art Centre, Edinburgh
2015 Four Women Artists, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
Scottish Art, People, Places, Ideas, City Art Centre, Edinburgh
2016 Flora Depicta, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
2016/17 Paper Trail, City Art Centre, Edinburgh
Portraits include
1982 Dr Winifred Rushforth, in the collection of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh
Dr Winifred Rushforth, in the collection of City Art Centre, Edinburgh
Ronald Stevenson, in the collection of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh
1985 R.D.Laing, commissioned by the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh
1986 The Very Reverend Professor John McIntyre, commissioned by New College, Edinburgh University
Kathleen Raine, in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London
Dame Janet Vaughan, in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London
1987 Tam Dalyell MP, commissioned by West Lothian Council.
1988 Lord Provost, Tom Morgan, commissioned by Edinburgh District Council
Mr and Mrs Tam Dalyell MP, commissioned for ‘The Binns’
1988/89 Principal Tom Johnston, commissioned by Heriot Watt University
1989 The Earl of Wemyss and March, KT, commissioned by the National Trust for Scotland.
1990 Professor Michael Oliver, commissioned by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
Dr Jean Keeling, commissioned by colleagues
1990/91 Principal George McNicol, commissioned by Aberdeen University
1991 Professor Bill Hayes, The President, St. John’s College, Oxford, commissioned by the College.
1992 Professor Geoff Chisholm, commissioned by the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh
1994 Professor Piers Mackesy, Historian, commissioned for the family
1996 Lady Emma Tennant, commissioned by the Marquis of Hartington
Harry Tatton, commissioned by The Incorporation of Goldsmiths of the City of Edinburgh, The Assay Office, Edinburgh
Callum Macdonald, Scottish Literary Publisher, commissioned by the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh
Graham Crowden, Actor, gifted to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery
Piers Ben-Gough, Her Majesty’s Representative at Ascot, commissioned by the racecourse authority
1997 Exchange Commission between Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh and National Portrait Gallery, Frederiksborg, Copenhagen. Selected Scottish artist to paint
Ole Lippmann, head of S.O.E., Denmark.
1998 Sir Peter Main, commissioned by Boots.
2000 Mary James, commissioned by the Governors of St. Leonard‘s School.
James Wright, Vice-Chancellor, University of Newcastle, commissioned by the University.
Sir Iain Noble Bt., OBE, commissioned for the family.
2002 The Hon Roy MacLaren, P.C. commissioned for the family.
2003 Professor James Petrie, commissioned by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
Professor David Ingram, OBE, commissioned by St Catherine‘s College, Cambridge.
2006 Thea Musgrave, CBE, Commissioned by the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
2008 Sir Menzies Campbell, CBE, QC, MP, commissioned by the Palace of Westminster.
Principal Dr Brian Lang, FRSE, commissioned by University of St Andrews.
2009 Principal Sir Muir Russell, KBE, DL, FRSE, commissioned by the University of Glasgow.
Dr Ann Matheson, commissioned by the University of Edinburgh.
The Rt Hon Lord Ranald MacLean QC, commissioned by Lord MacLean.
2013 Professor Peter Higgs, CH, FRS, FRSE, commissioned by The Royal Society of Edinburgh
2016 Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, astrophysicist, commissioned by The Royal Society of Edinburgh
2016/17 Duke Richard and Duchess Elizabeth Buccleuch, double portrait, commissioned for Bowhill House
2017 Professor Sir Timothy O'Shea, BSc, PhD,D Univ, LL.Dhc, FRSE. Commissioned by the University of Edinburgh
Selected Public Collections
Bank of Scotland
Calderdale Museum and Art Gallery
Carnegie Dunfermline Trust
Contemporary Arts Society
Cornelian Asset Managers Ltd
Danish 20th Century Portrait Collection, Frederiksborg Castle, Copenhagen
Department of Neuroscience,University of Edinburgh
District Council of Edinburgh
District Council of West Lothian
Edinburgh City Art Centre
Education Authority of Edinburgh
Education Authority of Inner London
Fleming-Wyfold Art Foundation
The Franklin Trust
Glasgow Museums and Art Galleries
Harlow New Town Council
Highland Council
Houses of Parliament
Medical School, new Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh
Mercantile and General Reinsurance Company
McLean Gallery, Greenock
National Museum of Scotland
National Portrait Gallery, London
National Trust for Scotland
Nuffield Foundation, Paintings in Hospitals (Scotland)
Reader’s Digest
Royal Academy, London
Royal Bank of Scotland
Royal College of Art, London
Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh
Scottish Arts Council
Scottish Life Insurance Company
Scottish Media Group
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Scottish National Portrait Gallery
Smith Art Gallery, Stirling
St. Leonard’s School, St. Andrews
The Boots Company
Trustee Savings Bank
University of Aberdeen
University of Cambridge
University of Dundee
University of Edinburgh
University of Glasgow
University of Heriot-Watt
University of Newcastle
University of Oxford
University of St Andrews
Wigan Education Authority
William Bowmore Collection, Australia
Worshipful Company of Leathersellers
Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers
Selected Private Collections
HM The Queen
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
HRH The Prince of Wales
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall
Duke of Devonshire
Earl of Moray
Lady Cawdor
Earl Haig
Duke of Buccleuch
and in further important Private Collections worldwide
A full CV, including further Publications, Group Shows, Reviews, TV and Radio programmes and interviews, is available from The Scottish Gallery and Browse and Darby Ltd. Also available are the book 'Painted Insights' (published in 2001/2009) and the new monograph, 'Victoria Crowe' by Duncan Macmillan (Antique Collectors' Club, 2012, ISBN 9781851497140).