Anne Redpath (1895–1965) was a Scottish painter known for her vivid domestic still lifes, landscapes, and church interiors. She is associated with the group of artists known as the Edinburgh School and is considered an heir to the tradition of the Scottish Colourists.
Life
Anne Redpath was born on 29 March 1895 in Galashiels, Selkirkshire, Scotland, the daughter of a tweed designer. She studied at Edinburgh College of Art from 1913 to 1917, qualifying as an art teacher and gaining her diploma. In 1919, a travelling scholarship enabled her to visit Brussels, Bruges, Paris, Florence, and Siena, where she developed an interest in 14th-century Italian painting.
In 1920, she married James Beattie Michie, an architect working with the Imperial War Graves Commission, and moved to France. During the next fourteen years, she devoted herself largely to family life and produced relatively little painting. The couple had three sons, two of whom—Alastair Michie and David Michie—became artists. Redpath returned to Scotland in 1934, settling in Hawick in the Scottish Borders, and later moved to Edinburgh in 1949. She became gradually estranged from her husband.
Career and Honours
Redpath served as president of the Scottish Society of Women Artists from 1944 to 1947. She was elected an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy (ARSA) in 1947 and, in 1952, became the first woman painter to be elected a full Academician (RSA). In 1955, she was appointed OBE for her work as an artist and Member of the Board of Management of Edinburgh College of Art. She was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy (ARA) in 1960 and also held memberships in the Royal Society of British Artists, the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, and the Royal West of England Academy, among others.
Artistic Style and Themes
Redpath is best known for still lifes of domestic interiors in which household objects are arranged into bold, flat-surfaced compositions with an emphasis on pattern and colour. She described her approach to colour by drawing a connection to her father's tweed designs: "I do with a spot of red or yellow in a harmony of grey, what my father did in his tweed."
Her early work on returning to Scotland was relatively muted, but from the mid-1940s onward her palette became increasingly vibrant. Influences include Henri Matisse, Pierre Bonnard, and the Post-Impressionists. In her later years, her work responded in part to Abstract Expressionism through freer and more expressive handling of paint. She travelled extensively in the 1950s and early 1960s, painting in Spain, Portugal, Corsica, Brittany, Venice, and the Canary Islands. Later works include religious subjects, particularly church interiors and altars.
Death and Legacy
Anne Redpath died on 7 January 1965 in Edinburgh following a fall. A retrospective of her work was held at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh in 1996. Her works are held by major institutions including the Tate Gallery, the National Galleries of Scotland, the Fleming Collection, and numerous other public collections. More than 100 artworks by or after Redpath are listed on Art UK.
