The Hunterian Museum and

Hunterian Art Gallery

82 Hillhead Street, Glasgow G12 8QQ
until 8 May 2022

“Joan Eardley’s gift was to bring seemingly everyday surroundings to life,” says Anton Muscatelli, Principal of the University of Glasgow. “Her seascapes at Catterline are amongst my favourite paintings and we’re very fortunate to have three in our University collection.”

Ever since the Hunterian Art Gallery opened its doors in 1980, Eardley’s works have been favourites among members of the University community and visitors alike. Her ability to capture the elemental energy of her subjects gives her work a timeless quality that resonates with today’s viewers as much as it did with her contemporaries.

This exhibition celebrates Joan Eardley, one of Scotland’s most remarkable artists working in the post-war period, in the centenary year of her birth. Taking place in two instalments, both part of the programme of events organised by the Scottish Women and the Arts Research Network (SWARN), it first focused on works on paper. In this second instalment, attention is shifting to paintings. The study of Eardley’s technique and materials carried out by the University of Glasgow’s Technical Art History Department highlights how the artist tackled her two favourite, yet very different subject matters, Glasgow and Catterline, in a relatively similar manner.