Joan Eardley (1921 - 1963)

Summer Grasses and Barley on the Clifftop (c.1962)

The Wave

Seascape (c.1950)

July Fields

Catterline in Winter (1963)

Snow. c. 1958

Joan Eardley, although English by birth, became known and revered as one of Scotland’s most prominent mid century artists. Discovering the Kincardineshire fishing village of Catterline in North East Scotland in 1950, Eardley was instantly inspired to paint there. She soon after bought a dilapidated 2-room cottage which was crudely converted into a live-in studio. Eardley loved to focus on singular locations, she painted the same places and scenes over and over, drawing out of them new expressions through color, medium and perspective. Sadly, Eardley’s life was tragically cut short by cancer as she was reaching the peak of her fame as a living artist. 

Her Catterline landscapes depict all aspects of the village’s landscape from warm harvest fields to stormy seascapes. She embraced the energy of the weather and the sea, often painting outside in harsh conditions as humbling storms raged before her canvas. Some of her Catterline works with paint expressionistically brushed on, dripped and scratched into, seem to capture an almost violent battle with the weather.