Barbara Rae was born in 1943 and studied at Edinburgh College of Art from 1961 to 1965 where she was awarded a travel scholarship, taking her, in 1966, to France and Spain. She taught in Edinburgh until 1972, going on to lecture in Drawing, Painting and Printmaking at Aberdeen College from 1972 to 1974 and in Drawing and Painting at Glasgow School of Art from 1975 to 1996. Rae’s work has been included in many solo and group exhibitions both nationally and internationally. Her first solo show was held in 1967 at the New 57 Gallery, Edinburgh. In 1994 and 1999, she won tapestry commissions for The Festival Theatre and for the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh. She has won many awards from, among others, the Scottish Arts Council and the Royal Scottish Academy. Rae’s work is included in many private collections in Britain, Europe and the USA, as well as in many important public and corporate collections. Rae was elected President of the Society of Scottish Artists in 1983. She was made a Member of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1992 and of the Royal Academy in 1996. She has been a Member of the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland since 1995 and was a Member of the Board of the British School at Rome. In 1999 she was awarded a CBE and received an Honorary Doctorate from Napier University. She is a leading member of the Royal Academy.