Deirdre Nicholls is a sculptor working in bronze, plaster and resin in the Scottish Borders.
Showing at the Royal Scottish Academy 200th Anniversary Exhibition (9 May- 14 June 2026), Nicholls’ current sculptural focus is on rare and endangered UK farm animals, using colour, scale and form to slow perception and draw attention to overlooked species.
Nicholls’ practice is grounded in sustained observation of nature in all its forms - landscape, animal and figurative. Beginning with drawing and modelling, she develops work that moves from outward looking towards something more internal and psychological.
She is less interested in description than presence — in how a figure occupies space, holds attention, and appears to shift under changing light and viewpoint.
Drawing and watercolour are an integral part of the practice, developing ideas of rhythm, colour and light that later inform sculptural work. Across both human and animal subjects, Nicholls’ work considers shared conditions of embodied existence — vulnerability, attentiveness and quiet endurance.
Her work is held in public and private collections in the UK and internationally, and she has exhibited at the Royal Academy, Royal Scottish Academy and Royal Ulster Academy.
Born in Edinburgh and raised in a sculptor’s studio environment, Nicholls studied at Liverpool and Winchester Schools of Art; she lives and works in Scotland
CURRICULUM VITAE
Sculptor working in bronze, plaster and resin in the Scottish Borders,
focusing on rare and endangered UK farm animals and
the shifting perception of figurative form.
Represented by Compass Gallery, Glasgow
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2026
Royal Scottish Academy, 200th Anniversary Exhibition
Royal and Ancient World Golf Museum, St Andrews.Masterstrokes: 200 Years of Scottish Golfing Art
Friday 3 April 2026 - Sunday 21 March 2027
2025
Paisley Art Institute Annual Exhibition (Sculpture Prize)
Royal Ulster Academy Annual Exhibition
2024
Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition
Compass Gallery, Glasgow
2023
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
The Scottish Gallery
2022
Cookham Arts Festival, Olney Park Sculpture Exhibition
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019
John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford
2013
Beyond Surface: Portrait Heads, Summerhall, Edinburgh
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS & COMMISSIONS
Glasgow City Chambers — Bust of Nelson Mandela
University of Edinburgh — Bust of Professor Sir Tim O’Shea
University of Edinburgh Business School — Bust of Ian Rushbrook
University of Edinburgh — Bust of Frank Rushbrook CBE
The Incorporated Trades of Edinburgh — Heraldic Shields
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
The Robert Burns Association, Georgia, USA — Bust of Robert Burns
Edinburgh Burns Society — Bust of Robert Burns
Edinburgh Corn Exchange — Bust of Bert Demarco
AWARDS
2025 — Paisley Art Institute Prize for Sculpture
Early Career
Northern Young Contemporaries — 1st Prize
(exhibited at Whitworth Art Gallery)
EDUCATION
BA (Hons), Sculpture & Printmaking — Winchester School of Art
PGCE — University of Sussex
MBA — Open University
MA, Classical Studies — Open University