EDINBURGH.- The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) have announced the shortlist for the 2025 RSA MacRobert Art Award for Painting. The four shortlisted artists are Andrew Mackenzie, Catherine Ross, Mark Lawrence and Olivia Irvine.


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Funded by the MacRobert Trust and administered by the RSA, the award provides the time and financial assistance for a committed painter whose circumstances have, for whatever reason, made it difficult to focus upon and develop their artistic talent. The recipient, who will be announced on Wednesday 23 July 2025, will receive £20,000 to fund a 12-month period of research and development for a new body of work which will be exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy.


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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 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 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’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.