HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay has extended his patronage of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW) until April 2020.

The RSW was founded in 1878 by a group of artists who wanted to encourage and promote watercolour painting in Scotland.  Queen Victoria granted Royal status in 1888 and continued these Royal links, with HRH The Duke of Rothesay taking over as Patron of the Society in February 2003, following the death of The Queen Mother who had been Patron since 1938.

President of the RSW, John Inglis, said “We are the only Society dedicated to promoting watercolour painting in Scotland and are delighted and honoured that HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay will continue as our Royal Patron.  We pride ourselves on our distinguished history and in our forward looking approach to encouraging watercolour painting.  Our annual open winter and summer exhibitions are key dates on the Scottish arts calendar bringing together leading and emerging Scottish artists.

“In our 2015 Winter Annual Exhibition we showcased works by 10 Chinese professional artists and a selection from the International prize ‘Marche d’Acqua’ Fabriano Watercolour 2014 along with invited works by recent graduates from the Scottish art colleges.”

The RSW 135th Annual Exhibition will take place in 2016 showcasing new work by artists from across Scotland and presenting awards including the £3000 Alexander Graham Munro Travel Award which is presented for the best work submitted by an artist under the age of 30. In past years it has been won by young artists from Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh.