Deirdre Nicholls

Award-winning Figurative Sculptor and watercolour painter. Based in Scottish Borders. Recently showed @ Paisley Art Institute Annual Exhibition at Glasgow Art Club: Awarded Sculpture Prize. Previous shows include The Royal Ulster Academy Belfast, 24-25, Royal Academy 2023, Royal Scottish Academy 2024. The Scottish Gallery Edinburgh 2023, Compass Gallery Glasgow 2024, London Art Fair 2025, and Cookham Festival Sculpture Garden 2022
Represented by the Compass Gallery and Gerber Fine Art in Glasgow, Scotland, my work is in public and private collections in the UK, US and France. Several commissioned busts are in the University of Edinburgh's collection.


Other achievements:



Born in Edinburgh, daughter of a sculptor and stonemason, I was trained in traditional methods at Liverpool and Winchester Schools of Art in the 1970’s - an early winner of the Northern Young Contemporaries Prize awarded by the Whitworth Gallery in Manchester 1975. Benefited from teaching by William Pye, Norman Ackroyd, Patrick Heron, & John Bellany

A specialist in portraits from both live sitters and reconstructions, and also a classicist. Created a reconstruction of Alexander the Great after a period of extensive research undertaken for an MA in Cla...

BA (Hons), Sculpture, Winchester School of Art 1976
MA (Classical Studies) 2017
MBA 1999

Recent shows: Paisley Art Institute Annual Exhibition Glasgow 2025
Royal Ulster Academy Belfast, Annual Exhibition 2024-5
Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition 2024
Compass Gallery Glasgow 2024
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition London 2023
The Scottish Gallery Edinburgh, Summer 2023
Cookham Sculpture Festival, England 2022.





John Radcliffe Hospital solo show 2021


WORK IN PERMANENT PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Glasgow City Council, City Chambers, bronze bust of Nelson Mandela
https://vimeo.com/109109930 Unveiling Mandela in Glasgow

University of Edinburgh, School of Fire Safety Engineering, bust of late founder, Dr Frank Rushbrook

University of Edinburgh, bust of former Principal & Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Tim O’Shea

University of Edinburgh Business School, Bust of Ian Rushbrook

Set of 16 wooden heraldic shields designed & created for The Incorporated Trades of Edinburgh

SELECTED WORK IN PRIVATE COLLECTIONS

2017 Angus Tulloch, portrait bust
2015 President of the Robert Burns Association Georgia USA, bust of Robert Burns
2012 Private Assets Trust Edinburgh, bust of late founder
2013 Edinburgh Corn Exchange, bust of late founder Bert Demarco
2012 Peter de Vink, portrait bust


SELECTED MIXED EXHIBITIONS:
2018 ...