One of the last finished paintings of Glasgow’s street children by celebrated Scottish artist, Joan Eardley, is set to go under the hammer with fine art auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh next Thursday (8 December).
Joan Eardley’s The Yellow Jumper is an outstanding example of the artist’s depictions of the children of the now largely demolished neighbourhood of old Townhead in Glasgow city centre.
It was one of the final works Eardley made before her untimely death, aged 42, in August 1963.
This important work, valued between £100,000 and £150,000, comes from a series featuring two children positioned in front of a bright-red graffiti-covered wall. This was inspired by the exterior of the scrap-metal business beneath Eardley’s studio – hence the word METAL stencilled above the heads of the children in The Yellow Jumper.
The work depicts two of the Samson siblings, members of a family of 12 children who lived near her studio. They were amongst Eardley’s favourite sitters. Ann Samson, who appears in many of Eardley’s paintings, said: “It’s great to see this work after all these years. It looks like it could be my sister Mary and our youngest brother Brian, who sadly died a good few years ago.”
The Yellow Jumper is related to Eardley’s Two Children, found incomplete on the artist’s easel on her death. This work now hangs in Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery.
Six others works by Eardley will be offered in Lyon & Turnbull’s biannual Scottish Paintings & Sculpture sale. It opens for public viewing at the auction house’s Edinburgh saleroom on Sunday 4 December 2022, with the sale taking place four days later.
Alice Strang, Senior Specialist in Modern & Contemporary Art at Lyon & Turnbull said:
“The Yellow Jumper is one of Eardley’s glorious depictions of Glaswegian children. She never fails to capture her sitters’ joie de vivre via an extraordinary painting and collage technique. The youngsters’ ease with each other and with the artist is clear. It is a stunning work and we are delighted to present it to the market.”
Scottish Paintings & Sculpture sale, Thursday 8 December, Live Online | Edinburgh
- 2pm: Scottish Paintings & Sculpture sale, Lot 1 to 101
- 6pm: Scottish Paintings & Sculpture sale, Lot 102 to 186
- Link to entry on The Yellow Jumper by Joan Eardley HERE
- Link to the sale HERE
ABOUT LYON & TURNBULL
Operating since 1826, Lyon & Turnbull is one of the UK’s premier fine art and antiques auctioneers. The company’s galleries in London and Glasgow complement the historic Georgian headquarters and main saleroom in Edinburgh. Hosting nearly 40 specialist auctions per year across the UK there is always something to see at Lyon & Turnbull: from jewellery and watches to fine furniture; traditional British and European art to Modern & Contemporary stars; European decorative arts and design to fine Asian art from China and Japan.
Issued by Jill Brown Media on behalf of Lyon & Turnbull.
Media enquiries:
Jill Brown: jill@jillbrownmedia.com 07786 927203
Jan Patience: jan@jillbrownmedia.com 07802 427207