Marking five years since the death of Elizabeth Blackadder, Dovecot Studios will mount Elizabeth Blackadder: A Life in Colour – a vivid and celebratory exhibition exploring the artist’s enduring fascination with colour.

It will bring together works from the Royal Scottish Academy’s collection alongside textiles produced by Dovecot’s renowned studio.

Dovecot Studios after Elizabeth Blackadder, The Red Bouquet, 2026.

At the heart of the exhibition is Blackadder’s long-standing creative relationship with Dovecot Studios. Spanning over five decades, this collaboration resulted in more than 30 tapestries and hand-tufted rugs, translating her distinctive use of colour into richly textured forms.

A major highlight of the exhibition is the presentation of a newly created hand-tufted rug called The Red Bouquet, inspired by Blackadder’s 1975 painting of the same name.

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Made by Dovecot’s studio team, this will be shown publicly for the first time in this exhibition and marks a fresh chapter in the Studios’ ongoing engagement with her work.

Renowned for her luminous still lifes, delicate botanical watercolours and innovative printmaking, Blackadder was described as “a quiet radical” who pushed the boundaries of composition, space and, above all, colour.

Elizabeth Blackadder: A Life In Colour will showcase her distinctive relationship with colour and how it became a unifying force throughout her practice.

Dovecot Studio curator Heather Carroll said that presenting Elizabeth Blackadder’s work at Dovecot was “particularly meaningful”.

“Her collaboration with the Studios spans more than 50 years and represents an extraordinary dialogue between painting and textile,” she said.

“The unveiling of a new rug inspired by The Red Bouquet is especially significant as it reflects both the vibrancy of her work and Dovecot’s commitment to reimagining important artistic legacies through contemporary making.”

She said Blackadder’s breadth of her work in oil, watercolour, and printmaking techniques had long been celebrated for its new perspectives in contemporary art.

Marking the RSA’s bicentenary in 2026, the exhibition forms part of a wider celebration across Scotland, RSA200 which recognises the Academicians who have shaped the nation’s cultural life.

Blackadder is considered one of its most vibrant and influential contributors.

Alongside RSA200, the exhibition will form part of the Edinburgh Art Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026. It will run from June 20 until November 14.