The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Artist’ s designs hailed as ‘ahead of their time’
Art and design teacher, campaigner for voluntary assisted dying and charity supporter Kathleen Butlin has died aged 89.
After a teaching career in England, she retired to Dundee in the mid 1980s and became involved in civic life.
Ms Butlin raised funds for the return of RRS Discovery to Dundee, supported Verdant Works and designed products for the Mcmanus Galleries shop.
She was born in Dundee in 1931. Her parents were both teachers and she was the eldest of three children.
Her father, Charles Mowat, was an Orcadian who came south to study at Edinburgh University. He went on to become head teacher at Downfield and then Clepington primary schools.
Ms Butlin was educated at Morgan Academy before studying at Dundee College of Art, now Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.
She graduated in 1954 with a diploma in design.
Along with fellow graduate Moira Macgregor, later to become a celebrated fashion illustrator, she was awarded a travelling scholarship which took them both to Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan.
She then went on to work within the commercial design industry, creating eye-catching designs for a range of products including tourist guidebooks, biscuit tins, ice lollies, plum pudding and even dried peas.
In 2018, Ms Butlin donated 100 of her drawings and designs to the Dundee University Museum Collections.
These included many of her student pieces from the art college, now part of the university, and a wide range of her commercial design work.
Last year, with her support, the university was able to turn some of her student designs from the 1950s into printed products to help raise money for the collections.
After her spell in commercial design, she had moved into further education teaching in Sunderland in the 1960s.
During this period she lectured in art and design and also photography.
After marriage then divorce, Ms Butlin retired to Dundee.
Her nephew James Mowat said her forwardthinking artistic outlook was underpinned by understated traditional values.
“Her choice of designed products, whether china or curtains, was ahead of its time. She was also a person who did not want a lot of fuss,” he said.
“My aunt was a stimulating person to speak to, was encouraging and inspiring to those who knew her and saw things with a different eye.”
From at least the early 1980s, Ms Butlin had campaigned for assisted dying to be legalised and attended conferences across Europe.
In retirement she was a member of the ethics committee of an NHS patient partnership and a keen supporter and volunteer at Dundee Botanic Garden.
“She had a great independence of thought,” said James. “She was extremely well cared for at the end but I think, as a voluntary euthanasia campaigner, she was also frustrated and sad about the lack of progress.”
Ms Butlin has asked for her body to be donated to Dundee University for medical research and requested any donations to be made to the charity Dignity in Dying.