A quick note for collectors: Frances Walker’s work is getting fresh attention in Edinburgh with the RSA showing a focused selection of her prints and more unusual landscape pieces. It’s a reminder of how steady and influential she’s been in Scottish art. This print sits comfortably in that world.
A limited edition print with hand colouring of the Outer Hebrides, possibly Tiree. 4 from 50.
Frances Walker CBE RSA RSW was born in Kirkcaldy in 1930 and trained at Edinburgh College of Art, finishing in 1952. She picked up a couple of major travel scholarships straight out of college, which took her through Europe, including Greece and Iceland. After that she came back to Scotland, trained as a teacher at Moray House, and spent several years as the only art teacher for Harris and North Uist. That time in the islands shaped the way she looked at landscape for the rest of her career.
She moved to Aberdeen in 1958 to teach at Gray’s School of Art and stayed there until 1985. In the 1970s she helped set up Peacock Printmakers and later chaired the board. Her recognition came steadily: Associate of the RSA in 1970, full Academician in 1983, an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot‑Watt in 2003, and a CBE in 2020 for her contribution to Scottish art and printmaking.
Her work sits in major collections across Scotland and beyond — Aberdeen Art Gallery, the National Galleries of Scotland, the Fleming Collection, RBS, Kirkcaldy, the RSA. In 2017 she gifted her Antarctic Suite to the McManus Gallery in Dundee. She still lives in Aberdeen.
