Victoria Elizabeth Crowe (born 8 May 1945) is a Scottish artist known for her portrait and landscape paintings. She has works in several collections including the

National Galleries of Scotland The National Galleries of Scotland (, sometimes also known as National Galleries Scotland) is the executive non-departmental public body that controls the three national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries, forming one of the Nation ...

, the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

, and the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

Life

Victoria Crowe was born in

Kingston-on-Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

on 8 May 1945 and educated at Ursuline Convent Grammar School, London. She studied at

Kingston College of Art Kingston University London is a public research university located within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in South West London, England. Its roots go back to the Kingston Technical Institute, founded in 1899. It received university ...

from 1961 to 1965, before undertaking further study at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

in London from 1965 to 1968. On the strength of her postgraduate exhibition, she was invited to teach at

Edinburgh College of Art Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...

by Robin Philipson, head of drawing and painting. She worked at ECA from 1968 to 1998 as a part-time lecturer in drawing and painting, while also developing her own artistic practice. She and her husband Michael Walton settled at Kittleyknowe near

Carlops Carlops () is a small village in the Pentland Hills, within the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, close to the boundary with Midlothian. It lies between West Linton and Penicuik. The village was founded in 1784 and developed cotton weaving, co ...

in the

Pentland Hills The Pentland Hills are a range of hills southwest of Edinburgh, Scotland. The range is around in length, and runs southwest from Edinburgh towards Biggar and the upper Clydesdale. Etymology The hills take their name from the hamlet of Pe ...

, Scotland, where they befriended the shepherdess Jenny Armstrong. In 1973 she had a son and in 1976 a daughter. Her son died in 1995. They set up a trust in his name to raise awareness and funds to tackle oral cancers in young people. Over the last 35 years Victoria Crowe, one of Scotland's leading painters, has established herself as a painter whose work is instantly recognisable. While the full range of her painting covers landscape, still lifes, portraits, self-portraits and interiors, much of her work defies such precise categorisation. She has been described as "one of the most vital and original figurative painters currently at work in Scotland".

Work

She began painting formal portraits in the early 1980s. She has produced many individual portraits, including RD Laing,

Kathleen Raine Kathleen Jessie Raine (14 June 1908 – 6 July 2003) was an English poet, critic and scholar, writing in particular on William Blake, W. B. Yeats and Thomas Taylor. Known for her interest in various forms of spirituality, most prominently Plat ...

Tam Dalyell Sir Thomas Dalyell, 11th Baronet ( ; 9 August 1932 – 26 January 2017), known as Tam Dalyell, was a Scottish politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Linlithgow (formerly West Lothian) from 1962 to 2005. A member of the Labour ...

, and

Peter Higgs Peter Ware Higgs (29 May 1929 – 8 April 2024) was a British theoretical physicist, professor at the University of Edinburgh,Griggs, Jessica (Summer 2008The Missing Piece ''Edit'' the University of Edinburgh Alumni Magazine, p. 17 and Nobel ...

. Her work includes the series ''A Shepherd's Life'', painted between 1970 and 1985 and first shown at the

Scottish National Portrait Gallery National Galleries Scotland: Portrait is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. Portrait holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Collec ...

in Edinburgh in 2000, which portrays the life of Jenny Armstrong, an elderly

shepherd A shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations; it exists in many parts of the globe, and it is an important part of Pastoralism, pastoralist animal husbandry. ...

from the Scottish Borders who was Crowe's neighbour at Kittleyknowe. One of the works in the series, ''Two Views'', was converted into a tapestry by

Dovecot Studios Dovecot Studios or Dovecot is a tapestry studio and arts venue in Edinburgh, Scotland. Dovecot Studios was established by the 4th Marquess of Bute in 1912, recruiting weavers from William Morris' workshops at Merton Abbey in London. The Mar ...

in Edinburgh, commissioned by Richard Scott, 10th Duke of Buccleuch. Her first solo exhibition was held in 1983 at the Thackeray Gallery, London, where she would continue to exhibit regularly until 2007. Between 1970 and 1985, Crowe undertook study trips to Russia, Denmark and Finland. She visited Italy in the early 1990s, which added the influence of

Italian Renaissance art Italian Renaissance painting is the painting of the period beginning in the late 13th century and flourishing from the early 15th to late 16th centuries, occurring in the Italian Peninsula, which was at that time divided into many political stat ...

to her works, leading to a new phase of increased confidence and achievement. However, in 1994 her art was forced to respond to her son's diagnosis with cancer and then to his death in 1995, which resulted in a series of works expressing her grief, through repeated motifs such as the moon and flowers. Her works in the 21st century included wintry landscapes with skeletal hazel trees which Duncan Macmillan called "numinous pictures; they are spiritual landscapes". In 2004 Crowe was appointed senior visiting scholar at St Catharine's College, University of Cambridge. The work she produced during this period was shown at the exhibition ''Plant Memory'' at the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh. In 2013, the exhibition ''Fleece to Fibre'', based on the making of the ''Large Tree Group'' tapestry, is shown during the Edinburgh International Festival at the

, Edinburgh. It toured thereafter to the Australian Tapestry Workshop, Melbourne; Inverness; and London. Commissioned portrait of

for the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Awarded a prestigious tapestry commission by the

Worshipful Company of Leathersellers The Worshipful Company of Leathersellers is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The organisation originates from the latter part of the 14th century receiving its Royal Charter in 1444, and is therefore the senior leather industr ...

for the livery company's headquarters in the City of London. In 2015 she became artist-in-residence at The Royal Drawing School Artist Studios,

Dumfries House Dumfries House is a Palladian country house in Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located within a large estate, around west of Cumnock. Noted for being one of the few such houses with much of its original 18th-century furniture still present, including ...

and the following year was commissioned to create a portrait of Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell for the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. In 2017 Crowe designed The Leathersellers' Tapestry for the Dining Hall of the Leathersellers' Building in London. The forty metre-long tapestry was woven at Dovecot Tapestry Studios in Edinburgh. In 2018, she was awarded the Sir William Gillies Research Award by the Royal Scottish Academy supporting the making of a video projection responding to Schubert's Winterreise song cycle. ''Winterreise: A Parallel Journey'', a collaboration with opera singer Matthew Rose and pianist Gary Matthewman, is performed at the Britten Studio,

Snape Maltings Britten Pears Arts is a large music education organisation based in Suffolk, England. It aims to continue the legacy of composer Benjamin Britten and his partner, singer Peter Pears, and to promote the enjoyment and experience of music for all ...

, and at the

Wigmore Hall The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good building acoustics, acoustics. It specialis ...

, London. In 2018, ''Victoria Crowe: Beyond Likeness'' was exhibited at the

and showcased over fifty portraits from the 1960s to the present. A commissioned portrait of HRH Prince Charles, the Duke of Rothesay was also unveiled there. ''Victoria Crowe: 50 Years of Painting'' was shown at the City Art Centre, Edinburgh. This major retrospective highlighted the artist's career from student work up until 2019.

Honours

*2004: Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) *2009: Awarded

Doctor Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

(DHC),

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

*2010: Fellow of the

*Member of the

Selected exhibitions

*1989: Bruton Gallery, Bath *1991: Thackeray Gallery, London *1993: Bruton Gallery, Bath *1993: Ancrum Gallery, Borders Festival *1994: Thackeray Gallery, London *2000: ''A Shepherd's Life'', Scottish National Portrait Gallery *2007: ''Plant Memory'', Royal Scottish Academy *2009:

Fine Art Society The Fine Art Society is a gallery based in both London and in Edinburgh's New Town (originally Bourne Fine Art, established 1978). The New Bond Street, London gallery closed its doors in August 2018 after being occupied by The Fine Art Society ...

, London *2013: ''Fleece to Fibre'', Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh *2018: ''Victoria Crowe: Beyond Likeness'', Scottish National Portrait Gallery *2019: ''Victoria Crowe: 50 Years of Painting,'' City Art Centre, Edinburgh

Collections

Crowe's work is held in a wide range of collections, including: *

: Portraits including Callum Macdonald (1996),

Graham Crowden Clement Graham Crowden (30 November 1922 – 19 October 2010) was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his many appearances in television comedy dramas and films, often playing eccentric scientist, teacher and doctor characters. Early life C ...

(1996) and

Winifred Rushforth Margaret Winifred Rushforth (née Bartholomew; 21 August 1885 – 29 August 1983) was a Scottish medical practitioner and Christian missionary in India who, influenced by Hugh Crichton-Miller and his friend, Carl Jung, became the founder of a ...

(1982) *

: Portraits of

(1986) and Dame Janet Vaughan (1986) *

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland () is a Scottish Building preservation and conservation trusts in the UK, conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation in Scotland and describes itself as "the charity that cares for, sha ...

: Portrait of Lord Wemyss (1989) *

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

: Portrait of Professor Bill Hayes (1991) *

National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, is a museum of Scottish history and culture. It was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, ...

: ''Large Tree Group'' tapestry (2012), produced in collaboration with Dovecot Tapestry Studios, Edinburgh *

: Portraits of Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell (2016) and Professor Peter Higgs (2013) *

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The colle ...

: Portrait of Professor David Ingram (2003)

Bibliography

Monographs

*Crowe, Victoria and Walton, Michael, ''Victoria Crowe: Painted Insights'', Antique Collectors Club, 2001 *Macmillan, Duncan. ''Victoria Crowe''. Antique Collectors' Club Ltd, 2012. *Mansfield, Susan, Macmillan, Duncan and Peploe, Guy. ''Victoria Crowe: 50 Years of Painting.'' Sansom & Co., 2019.

References

External links

*
Her website
*Catalogue fo
Victoria Crowe. 50 Years: Drawing and Thinking
exhibition at The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh {{DEFAULTSORT:Crowe, Victoria 1945 births Living people 20th-century Scottish women artists 21st-century Scottish women artists Alumni of the Royal College of Art Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Kingston upon Thames