Dame Elizabeth Blackadder DBE RA RSA RSW, Scottish 1931-2021 - Lilies, 1983; watercolour and pencil on paper, signed and dated lower left 'Elizabeth Blackadder 1983', 34.2 x 34.4 cm (ARR) Provenance: with Mercury Gallery, London (according to the label attached to the reverse of the frame); private collection, purchased from the above Note: This early watercolour, along with another by Dame Elizabeth Blackadder (lot 270), demonstrates her careful balance of colour and composition, allowing the abstract qualities of the medium to create a transcendental sense to the image. Lilies (1983) was purchased from the Mercury Gallery in the 1980s and has been in the same private collection ever since. The yellow lily, symbolizing thankfulness and happiness, was a reoccurring motif in her work. Her draftsmanship and sensitive handling of the medium capture the beauty of the lily, perhaps one found in her garden.Blackadder was the first woman to be elected as an academician to the Royal Academy in London and the Royal Scottish Academy. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is now held in all major public UK collections, including the Tate, National Galleries of Scotland and the Government Art Collection.Please refer to department for condition report