Joan Eardley (1921-1963) is one of Scotland’s most distinctive artists. Having studied at Glasgow School of Art, she achieved acclaim in large institutions including the Royal Glasgow Institute, the Society of Scottish Artists and the Royal Scottish Academy where she was elected as an associate in 1955, aged 35. Eardley’s work also achieved prominence in London and she held a solo show at Roland, Browse and Delbanco just months before her death in August 1963.
Eardley is best known for her raw renderings of the townscape and children of indigent urban Glasgow, many of which she completed in her Townhead studio. The artist also painted striking landscapes and sublime seascapes from her cottage in Catterline in Kincardinshire.