Joan Eardley - Social Realist, Neo-Romantic or Abstract Expressionist? :: Visual Arts Paintings Art

Joan Eardley - Social Realist, Neo-Romantic or Abstract Expressionist? In asking others[1] on their opinions of Joan Eardley the initial answer was usually the same; that generally Joan Eardley’s works are concocted in a realist style. Though, each of my sources, after some thought and discussion, changed their minds during the course of the debate. However, I will attempt to define Eardley’s work through personal opinion and analysis in the following essay and will hopefully finish with a fuller understanding and a more sound opinion of her work. There are very few published works on Eardley and therefore, limited ideas in print. This has proved a great advantage in the answering of this question since my primary inspiration (evidently this should always be the case) has been solely the works themselves. In addressing the definitions of the terms in question, I came to the conclusion that Eardley did in fact employ a little of each genre in her paintings. Social Realism aims for the, â€Å"...truthful, historically concrete portrayal of reality in its revolutionary development...† It also shows â€Å"idealised representations of heroic workers and soldiers, in a naturalistic style.†[2] In considering the latter part of this definition, it seems fitting to refer to Eardley’s ‘The Mixer Men’ of 1944 [Plate 1]. This painting was inspired as a result of her job as a carpenter’s assistant. The piece is full of gritty realism and is truthful in the sense that Eardley painted them through direct human contact. She slaps on the canvas a vision of how she sees these men which is in this case from behind the predominant figure. This viewpoint in reminiscent of Degas’ ‘keyhole’ effect and possibly reflects her interest in the style and composition of this impressionistic artist. This notion of personal and human contact was very important for Eardley throughout her career. She made clear that she thought the story behind her sitter was just as important as the final outcome. The fact that she was painting real pictures of real people is a key factor when looking at her paintings. She did not abide by what was thought to be socially acceptable at the time. A prime example of this was her painting of friend, Angus Neil, entitled, ‘Sleeping Nude’ of 1954-5. [Plate 2] This piece was shown at the annual exhibition of the Glasgow institute in 1955 and caused huge uproar. The very idea of a woman painting a male nude, and depicting him so blatantly and gaunt, was deemed unacceptable. The painting itself tells no lies and reflects no flattery on the sitter. The brushstrokes are reminiscent of Van Gogh and in the same way, express Eardley’s mentality at the