Joan Eardley’s first exhibition was held in Aberdeen, at the Gaumont Cinema Gallery in 1950 and it was on this visit that she discovered the small fishing village of Catterline, where she went on to spend so much of her time. After her death in 1963, her ashes were scattered there.

This online selection concentrates on rarely-seen drawings and works on paper by Joan Eardley in the collection of Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums.  These works came into our collection as a generous gift from the artist’s sister, Pat Black, in 1987.  They reveal so much of Eardley’s techniques and her approach to the visible world; how she captured the fleeting motion of a group of children playing in a street or the changing colours of a stormy sky. She achieved all this within a very small space and with the minimal means of pen, pencil, crayon or pastel on paper. They are private drawings for her own reference and their instantaneous quality says a lot about the artist herself.  

We hope that this selection of drawings will pique your interest and encourage you to come to view  Joan Eardley’s works that are currently on display in Aberdeen Art Gallery.

In addition to Harvest Time in Gallery 7, visitors to Aberdeen Art Gallery can see two further oil paintings by Joan, Brother and Sister in Gallery 18 ‘ People and Portraits’ and Setting Sun Over Fields in Gallery 1 ‘Collecting Aberdeen’ where a selection of her works on paper can also be found.

For opening hours and visiting information go to www.aagm.co.uk