Joyce W. Cairns PRSA has been elected President of the Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture, the first woman to be elected to the position in the 192-year history of the RSA. <br />
<br />
Born in Edinburgh, Cairns studied painting at Gray&rsquo;s School of Art, Aberdeen (1966-71), and at the Royal College of Art, London (1971-74). Following a fellowship at Gloucester College of Art and Design she studied at Goldsmiths College, University of London. In 1976 she returned to Aberdeen to teach Drawing and Painting at Gray&rsquo;s School of Art until 2004 when she left to complete a substantial body of work culminating in the exhibition War Tourist at Aberdeen Art Gallery.