59. Jennifer McRae (RSA) - Head in the clouds;blue sky thinking

2025
Oil on linen board
18 x 13 cm

Jennifer McRae RSA works predominantly in oil on linen, occasionally in watercolour. Her practice centres on the figure and the breadth of human experience, drawing inspiration from the emotional and psychological complexities encountered in everyday life. Working primarily from observation, McRae combines close study from life with memory, intuition and personal interpretation, creating paintings that balance technical sensitivity with emotional depth.

McRae graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Fine Art from Gray’s School of Art and later completed the Drawing Year at the Royal Drawing School.

Her work has been widely exhibited, including at the National Portrait Gallery for the BP Portrait Award, Mirror Mirror: Women Painters Through the Ages, the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, the National Galleries of Scotland, Flowers Gallery, Browse & Darby, The Fine Art Society and Thackeray Gallery, as well as exhibitions in the United States, including Gomez Gallery.

Among her awards are the BP Portrait Award, Travel Award, the Ondaatje Gold Medal from the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers First Prize Gold Medal, and First Prize in the Royal Watercolour Society Sunday Times Watercolour Competition.

Her work is held in major public and private collections including the National Portrait Gallery, the National Galleries of Scotland, Reading Museum, the The Garrick Club, the Marylebone Cricket Club Museum, The Royal Society and the Royal Collection.