In 1846, inspired by living life on the edge, Dr John Rae (1813-1893)  travelled to the arctic to discover the fate of Sir John Franklin’s lost expedition, and to confirm the existence of the Northwest Passage, the maritime link between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Come 2015 Barbara Rae journeyed in the footsteps of her namesake and made a body of evocative work in response to the relationship between people and the frozen landscape.

Rae’s work has been included in many solo and group exhibitions both nationally and internationally. She was elected President of the Society of Scottish Artists in 1983 and was made a Member of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1992 and a Royal Academician in 1996. Rae was awarded a CBE in 1999. She lives and works in Edinburgh.