Viewing Rooms: Elizabeth Blackadder and John Houston

Viewing Rooms is a regular series of events, where the Art Collection displays artworks that normally live in our art store.

Art Collection at the University of Stirling holds around 900 works of art and as with any museum or gallery, we can only display a portion of these works at any one time. The Art Collection is a public collection, meaning that these works belong to the public (you!) and we are determined to have as much on display as we can! Viewing Rooms allows us to get works out of our store for anyone to pop by and see.

Blackadder and Houston

On 17 January, we will be displaying work by the artists (and married couple) Elizabeth Blackadder and John Houston. 

Elizabeth Blackadder DBE RA RSA 

Born in Falkirk, Blackadder studied at Edinburgh College of Art (1949-54) under Robert Henderson Blyth and William Gillies. After being awarded travelling scholarships to southern Europe and Italy, she married artist and fellow Scottish Gallery exhibitor John Houston in 1956 and began teaching at ECA, retiring in 1986. She was the first woman to be elected to both the Royal and Royal Scottish Academies, she was made a Dame in 2003 and appointed Her Majesty’s painter and limner in Scotland in 2001.

John Houston OBE RSA 

One of the most distinguished painters of the post-war Scottish school, John Houston OBE RSA, who was born in Buckhaven, Fife, played football for Dundee United (and Scotland under 21s) until his career was halted by a knee injury. He then attended Edinburgh College of Art where his contemporaries included David Michie and Alan Davie. After graduating he began teaching there, and remained till his retirement in 1989, while also working as a prolific painter.

Getting Here

Pathfoot is on the University of Stirling Campus, FK9 4LA and can be seen up on the slope on your left as you enter the campus by the main entrance.

You can get to the campus by bus, bike or car and parking is free for the first two hours of your visit. 

The building is an accessible building, with spaces for blue badge holders at the front and rear of the building. If you have any questions about access, please email Emma at Emma.McCombie@stir.ac.uk or call us on 01786 466 050 and we'd be happy to advise.

For more information on the Art Collection and how to get here, please visit the Art Collection website.