Joan Eardley | Material and Process

Joan Eardley is one of Scotland’s most popular and influential twentieth century artists. Her powerful and expressive paintings transformed her everyday surroundings, from Glasgow’s street children to the rugged Kincardineshire coastline.

The hundredth anniversary of the artist’s birth was in May 2021. To mark this occasion, the National Galleries of Scotland produced this three-part audio programme in celebration of the artist’s life and work.

Painter and broadcaster Lachlan Goudie is joined by figures from the art world and beyond to try to understand better the character of this ground-breaking artist whose incredible body of work has endured long beyond her lifetime and continues to inspire new generations of artists.

In this third and final episode, Lachlan talks about Joan Eardley's choice of materials and technique with conservator Lesley Stevenson of the National Galleries of Scotland.

Also in this episode, Lachlan tries to contextualise Eardley’s work in relation to what was happening elsewhere in the world at the time with contemporary artist Jock McFadyen.