Barbara Rae

The Lammermuir Hills have been an important trade route between Scotland and England for generations, as well as an effective barrier when necessary. Drawn by the long history of southeastern Scotland and the many conflicting elements in play in its natural environment—among them wind farms, pylons, forestry plantations, grouse moors and sheep—the distinguished Scottish painter and printmaker Barbara Rae (born 1943) has made numerous studies of these wild expanses.
This handsome volume reproduces a wide selection of her intensely colorful images, with accompanying photographs and maps, and texts by the art critic Duncan Macmillan, Emeritus Professor of the History of Scottish Art at the University of Edinburgh, and Maureen Barrie, who worked for many years at National Museums Scotland.

These sketchbooks, the work of the acclaimed Scottish artist Barbara Rae (born 1943) during her three journeys toward the Northwest Passage in the depths of the Arctic Circle in 2015, 2016 and 2017, record in colorful and assured brushstrokes the icebergs, frozen bays and snowdrifts of this often hostile landscape. Polar bears and the Northern Lights make appearances, accompanied by Rae's handwritten notes in which she records her experiences and her immediate reactions to this harsh, unforgiving environment. Each page of the sketchbooks is meticulously reproduced, and the handsomely bound volume sits comfortably in the hand, making it the perfect gift for anyone interested in painting or exploration.

In 2015 Scottish painter Barbara Rae (born 1943) traveled to Greenland on the trail of her namesake, the surgeon and explorer Dr John Rae. Like the artist, John Rae came from Scotland; in 1846, he traveled to the Arctic, where his cooperation and collaboration with the Inuit—almost unheard of at the time—allowed him to discover the fate of Sir John Franklin's lost expedition, and to confirm the existence of the Northwest Passage. Hiking, sketching and creating paintings in her cabin among the icebergs, Barbara Rae stepped into the snowshoes of John Rae. Through her deft handling of color and line, the frozen tundras of the Arctic jump from the page into life. This publication takes the reader on a journey of discovery from Scotland to the Arctic and back again.