Unseen works by Eardley for sale atshow
UNSEEN pictures by one of Scotland’s most revered artists are to go on sale in a new exhibition in Edinburgh.
More than 20 works by Joan Eardley, currently the subject of a major show art the National Galleries of Scotland, are to be sold at the Scottish Gallery in the capital.Four of the collection, owned by members of the artist’s family, have not been seen in public before.
Many have been in the Eardley family since her death in 1963, and include rare paintings and pastel works from her travels in Italy in the late 1940s.
Eardley, who was born in 1921, and who trained at the Glasgow School of Art, is known in particular for her portraits of street children in Glasgow’s Townhead area and landscapes of the fishing village of Catterline, near Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire.
The sale also has a historic significance – Eardley first exhibited at the Scottish Gallery in 1955.
Prices for the paintings and images, some in pastel and others in oil, on show and sale will range from £5,000 to £115,000.
The unseen paintings include an unnamed palazzo in Italy, an untitled sea landscape, an image of trees and haystacks, and a farm at Catterline.
At present, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art is showing A Sense of Place, a show focusing on her paintings in Townhead and Catterline.
It shows paintings as well as sketches and photographs relating to the work of the artist who died aged just 42.
Christian Jansen, managing director of the Scottish Gallery, in the New Town area of the city, said: “We have been championing the work of Joan Eardley for 52 years. Over this time we have built up strong relationships with her family and friends who, when they want to sell, come to us first.
“We are excited to have some of her works that have not been seen in public before, as well as many that are on sale for the first time. Since we announced this exhibition we have further buyers keen to have work in their possession included as well.” Eardley was born in West Sussex. She studied at Goldsmith’s and Glasgow School of Art from 1940 to 1943 and then in 1947 at Hospitalfield under James Cowie. A post-diploma at Glasgow in 1948 was followed by travel in Italy and France.
The show will be staged from February 1 to 25.
The Scottish Gallery is Scotland’s oldest independent gallery, established in 1842.
In 2017, the Gallery is celebrating 175 years of contemporary art.
This year it will also stage an exhibition by Geoff Uglow, an Alastair Salvesen Art Scholarship graduate of the Glasgow School of Art. Entitled The Rose Garden, these large oil paintings are inspired by one which he greaw at his home in Devon.
Tommy Zyw of the Scottish Gallery describes him as “one of the most exciting artists in the UK”.