Royal Scottish Academy

Steven MacIver, Broadway, 2023, oil and gold on canvas, 150x120cm

About

The RSA MacRobert Art Award for Painting (£20,000) provides an extensive research and development opportunity for a fine art painter. The aim of the award is to assist a committed painter whose circumstances have made it difficult to focus upon their artistic talent, enabling them to dedicate the resources necessary to further expand their practice.

The award is funded by the MacRobert Trust and administered by the Royal Scottish Academy and consists of:
- A monetary award of £20,000 to fund a period of research and development for a new body of work within a 12-month period.
- Exhibition of selected completed work, along with other RSA winners, at the Royal Scottish Academy at a future date.

Previous winners of the RSA MacRobert Award for Painting

Steven MacIver 2024

Samantha Clark 2023
Mark H Lawrence, Is There Anything Else That Cannot Be Done? xi

Eligibility

To be eligible for the award, entrants must be painters who graduated at least 10 years ago or have at least 10 years of substantive practice. The selected artist must also have been born, or currently living, in Scotland. The award is for artists working in fine art painting of any medium or subject.

How to apply

Application deadline for 2025 has now passed.

We are pleased to announce this years winner is Mark H Lawrence. Find out more about Mark's work here.

Information on the four artists shortlisted for the award can be viewed below - Andrew Mackenzie, Catherine Ross, Mark H Lawrence, Olivia Irvine.

Contact Us
Andrew Mackenzie, Quarry 5, Green (detail), oil on panel

Shortlisted Artist
Andrew Mackenzie Andrew Mackenzie is a Scottish artist based in the Borders who explores human impact on landscapes through layered oil paintings. A graduate of Edinburgh College of Art, Mackenzie would use the RSA MacRobert Art Award to research and create a major new body of work on Scottish reservoirs. The award would support focused studio time and travel across Scotland, enabling deeper exploration of landscape and environmental change.
Catherine Ross, Then and Now (detail), oil on wood. Courtesy of the Artist and Ingleby, Edinburgh.

Shortlisted Artist
Catherine Ross Catherine Ross is a painter based in rural Aberdeenshire whose intimate, slowly developed works explore memory, winter landscapes and personal history. Drawing on childhood experiences and her father's work as a meteorologist, Ross plans to travel to Canada’s boreal forest to undertake immersive winter research. The RSA MacRobert Art Award would support this journey, enabling her to create a new body of oil and water-based paintings rooted in observation and memory.
Mark H Lawrence, Is There Anything Else That Cannot Be Done? ix (detail), oil on board

Shortlisted Artist
Mark H Lawrence Mark H Lawrence explores external influences on human life in the context and chaos of war, drawing on themes of displacement and loss. He uses oil paint to transform scenes of conflict into powerful visual statements. With the support of the RSA MacRobert Art Award, Lawrence would expand his practice by taking on a studio space and creating a major new series of large-scale paintings exploring the devastation in Gaza and Ukraine.
Olivia Irvine, Posterity (detail), oil on canvas

Shortlisted Artist
Olivia Irvine Olivia Irvine’s richly layered paintings explore memory and imagination through figures, interiors and gardens. Using oil, distemper and egg tempera, she builds layered works that evolve through improvisation. With the support of the RSA MacRobert Art Award, Irvine would create a new series of multi-panelled paintings inspired by travels, theatre, and art history. The award would enable her to focus fully on her practice, developing ambitious, interconnected works in a dedicated studio space.
Lady MacRobert

The MacRobert Trust

Sir Alexander MacRobert (1854-1922) and Lady MacRobert (1884-1954) married in 1911 and lived on the Douneside Estate in Aberdeenshire. After the death of her husband and three sons, Lady MacRobert continued to run the estate and immersed herself pursuing her own interests and supporting those of her family. These interests covered a broad range of subjects including supporting military life, farming and agriculture, gardening and horticulture, geology, art, music and her local community.

Prior to her death in 1954, Lady MacRobert established a series of charitable trusts that reflected her keen wish to continue to support those interests after she had gone and particularly to present young people with opportunities to better themselves as well as to support and nurture their belief in the traditions, ideals and spirit.

Find out more about The MacRobert Trust.

Banner image: Samantha Clark, Cloud Moon Wave
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