Born 10th September 1943 in Falkirk, Scotland , Barbara Rae is a highly acclaimed painter whose work has been exhibited throughout Scotland but also in South Africa, Norway, Australia, Spain, Italy, California, New Mexico and Washington DC.

Barbara Rae studied at the Edinburgh College of Art 1961-1965 where she was awarded a travel scholarship. She then taught at Ainslie Park School in Edinburgh (1968-9) and Portobello High School (1969-72) before taking a lecturing position at Aberdeen College of Education (1972-4). The bulk of her teaching career was spent as Lecturer in Drawing and Painting at Glasgow School of Art (appointed 1975). 

Rae's first solo show was held in 1967 at the New 57 Gallery, Edinburgh.

In 1977, Rae won the Guthrie medal, Royal Scottish Academy and in 1983, she became President of the Society of Scottish Artists and she was appointed a Member of the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland in 1995. Also in 1983 she was awarded the Royal Scottish Academy Sir William Gillies Travel Award and also the Calouste Gulbenkian printmaking award. In 1992 Barbara Rae was made a member of the Royal Scottish Academy. Then in 1996 she became a Royal Academician. Barbara was awarded a CBE in 1999 and received an honorary Doctorate from Napier University (Edinburgh) in the same year.

Barbara Rae's printmaking has been integral to her artistic activity since her student days. The way she conceives and works on her monoprints, screenprints and etchings complements and informs her approach to painting. The discipline imposed by these media and the unique opportunities offered by them create a set of possibilities, which stimulate her vision of the world, whether she is drawing, painting, making prints, or simply observing.