Deirdre Nicholls is an artist based in the Scottish Borders, working in figurative sculpture and watercolour.
Drawing and watercolour underpin her practice and inform the colour, form and light of the sculptural work that follows. Her subjects are landscape, seascape, animal and portrait sculpture: her bronze bust of Nelson Mandela is held in Glasgow City Chambers collection (ArtUk listed).
Nicholls has exhibited at the Royal Academy, Royal Scottish Academy, including the RSA's 200th Anniversary Exhibition in 2026, and the Royal Ulster Academy. She won the Paisley Art Institute Prize for Sculpture in 2025 and her work is held in public and private collections in the UK and abroad.
Born in Edinburgh and raised in a sculptor's studio, she studied at Liverpool and Winchester Schools of Art. She lives and works in Scotland.
CURRICULUM VITAE
Sculptor and watercolourist, working in bronze, plaster, resin and concrete,
focusing on rare and endangered UK farm animals and
the exploration of figurative form.
Lives and works in the Scottish Borders.
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
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
John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford (2019)
Beyond Surface: Portrait Heads, Summerhall, Edinburgh (2013)
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