Joan Eardley RSA (British, 1921-1963)
Catterline
oil on board
58 x 105.5 cm. (22 13/16 x 41 9/16 in.)
Studio inventory no. EE 143
Footnotes:
Provenance
With Cyril Gerber Fine Art, Glasgow
Sale; Bonhams, Edinburgh, 15 April 2014, lot 15 (from the Estate of the late Professors Sir Kenneth and Lady Noreen Murray)

Eardley's late works, painted in or around the village of Catterline in Aberdeenshire, are some of her most powerful and expressive. Here we see the full range and force of her technique, using typical oil paint alongside boat paint in broad sweeps, collage and scoring into the surface.

The present owner purchased this painting from Bonhams in 2014. There were small two darker clouds in the central area that they found to be distracting. A professional restorer was employed to paint over these darker patches with a lighter shade. Please ask the department to see before and after images.
This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: AR
AR Goods subject to Artists Resale Right Additional Premium.

Overall framed dimensions 77 x 124 x 5.5cm.

As is the case with Eardley's work, distinguishing between artist-made marks and later condition issues can be challenging, but listed below are those that seem unlikely from the hand of the artist.

The board is sound.
A varnish has been somewhat unevenly applied, with drips in places.
To the thicker impasto across the centre of the water there are some stable drying cracks in the paint.
There is a small flake of loss in the centre of the upper-edge and another very small flake of loss to the lower-left quadrant.
There is a diagonal retouched surface scratch that runs through the upper-right quadrant.
Inspection under UV light reveals a few small spots of retouching in the upper-left corner; some additional retouching to the aforementioned diagonal scratch in the upper-right; and a larger area of retouching to the right of the centre of the sky as a result of work outlined in the catalogue note for the painting.