Artist Joan Eardley

From The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

May 5, 2026 · 27 min

About this episode

The episode explores the life and work of artist Joan Eardley, highlighting her unique style and a new exhibition of her work.

In Scotland, from 1940 to 1963, the artist Joan Eardley produced a cache of monumental seascapes, landscapes, and poignant portraits. When she died aged 42 of breast cancer, people were still trying to categorise her work - part abstract expressionist, part Scottish colourist, part social realist, part kitchen sink (one of her first solo exhibitions was in a cinema). She worked with oil and pastels, but also used collage and plaster on her canvas, as well as gravel and sand and bits of plants (one gallerist scraped these bits off, confused.) She even used graffiti in her portraits of children living in tenements in Glasgow, decades before it became fashionable. A new exhibition at the National Galleries of Scotland hangs Joan's work alongside some of the most cherished and valuable paintings in their collection, including works by Monet and Constable. Curator Kerry Gledhill talks to Antonia Quirke about looking for 'synergies' between the works she has chosen to exhibit, and about Joan's short, passionate, productive life and working practice.

People in this episode

Host: Antonia Quirke

Guest: Kerry Gledhill

Topics covered

art
Scottish culture
exhibitions
Joan Eardley
portraiture
landscape painting

Keywords

Joan Eardley
Scottish art
exhibition
portrait
landscape
National Galleries of Scotland
Kerry Gledhill
Antonia Quirke

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: National Galleries of Scotland, BBC World Service

Books & works: seascapes, landscapes, portraits, Monet, Constable