Joan Eardley, RSA

The sheet is sound. On close inspection there is a very light crease in the extreme lower right corner and some extremely light undulation in places. On very close inspection there appears to be a very minor surface scratch running horizontally across the upper left section of the figure's head although this is probably intrinsic to the work. There are handling marks towards the extreme edges of the sheet which are intrinsic to the work. Otherwise this work is in good orginal condition. Held in a simple wooden frame in fair condition. Under glass and unexamined out of frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

In at interview for the Arts Council of Great Britain, Eardley expresses that "the character of Glasgow [which] lies in its back street which are for me pictorially exciting. There is no social or political impetus behind my paintings of that part of Glasgow, as is sometimes suggested. The back streets mean almost entirely screaming, playing children - all over the streets - and only in the shadows of doorways groups of women, and at street corners groups of men, but always chiefly children and the noise of children." Eardley rented a studio in the heart of Glasgow at 21 Cochrane Street, close to the City Chambers, and it was here that she was exposed to nitty-gritty daily life with all the recognisable characters that so dominated her work of the 1950s. In the sketches of children from this period Eardley would use any old scraps of paper any medium she could find, including the blue distemper which she had used to decorate the studio walls which give her work the kind of honesty and truth that she saw in the faces of her sitters. As Cordelia Oliver observes, Eardley's studio "was brightly lit, with a glass roof, unbearably hot in summer and ice-cold in winter but, as a painter's studio, it was perfect. Better still, it was plumb in the middle of a teeming community, with street kids constantly under foot, playing their seasonal games, the boys planning and wreaking mischief and the older girls, as always, minding their younger brothers and sisters."