An exhibition to mark 100 years since the birth of one of Scotland’s most prominent artists, Joan Eardley, will be held in Perth over the winter months.
Along with Eardley’s paintings from the permanent collection in Perth Museum and Art Gallery, the free exhibition at the aforementioned venue will bring together some of her most iconic works from around Scotland.
A somewhat enigmatic figure in early 20th Century Scotland, Eardley tragically died at 42 from breast cancer which spread to her brain and left her blind in her final months.
Born in 1921 on a Sussex dairy farm to an English father and Scottish mother, Eardley went on to live in London, Glasgow, Italy and in the Aberdeenshire village of Catterline in her latter years.
She studied at Glasgow School of Art from 1940 to 1943 and worked full time from a studio in Townhead in Glasgow, creating her evocative works depicting local children, drawn from life.
Painting children
Known for her gentle, quiet nature, Eardley had no children herself but always welcomed the local “ragamuffins” to her studio, where they could shelter in the warmth and receive food while they posed for their portraits.
In 1951, while hanging an exhibition of her work in Aberdeen, she visited Catterline and fell in love with the quaint fishing village. From this point on, she divided her time between Glasgow and Catterline, with the two locations becoming the focus of most of her works.
“Joan Eardley was one of the giants of British art,” says Patrick Elliott, chief curator of modern and contemporary art at the National Galleries of Scotland.
Catterline was perfect for her. It was small, the people were friendly and it provided her with all the subject matter she could need just steps away from her front door.
“Eardley came back and stayed there frequently – and liked it here so much she started renting No.1 South Row in 1954. This, remember, was before the cottages had electricity or running water, but that for Eardley was part of its appeal.”
Perth exhibition
Visitors to the exhibition in Perth have the opportunity to see some of the artist’s most significant works, including her bold atmospheric paintings of the Aberdeenshire coast and the sketches and paintings of the Glasgow children.
The exhibition will bring together works from the National Galleries of Scotland, the Royal Scottish Academy, City Art Centre, Edinburgh, the Fleming Collection and the University of Dundee.
“We have some really amazing work. The more time I spend looking at her work, the more I fall in love with it”, says collections officer Amy Fairley of Culture Perth and Kinross, the organisation behind Perth Museum and Art Gallery.
“We have two of Eardley’s paintings in our collection and both pieces will be on display in the exhibition. One of the works in Perth has a painting on either side of the canvas. On one side there’s a painting of children playing and on the back there’s a fireplace.
So it’s showing her working practices, utilising any spare piece of canvas or board she could get her hands on.”
Amy adds: “There’s a story that she used to discard some of the sketches she did of the kids and they would pick them up and make paper aeroplanes. Now these sketches are going for thousands of pounds.
Working in all weathers
“I’m hoping to have a little station in the exhibition where kids can make their own paper aeroplanes.”
Snow II, which is owned by the University of Dundee, will also feature in the Perth exhibition. Painted in around 1960, close to the end of Eardley’s life, it shows a wintry scene in Catterline.
She could be found working in all weathers in a bid to catch the ever-changing appearance of the north-east coast’s land and sea.
“There are some amazing anecdotes about her waiting for a storm and zipping down on her scooter,” adds Amy. “She was a bit like Monet, as well. She painted the same scenes but at different times of the year and in different weather conditions.
“You just wonder where her career would have taken her if she had gone on to live a longer life. It’s so tragic.”
