A vivid portrait of much-loved artist, Joan Eardley, and her relationship with the Scottish coastal fishing village, Catterline. 

Joan Eardley, one of Scotland’s most loved artists, first visited the coastal fishing village of Catterline in north-east Scotland in 1951. It sparked a fascination that would last the rest of her life. 

She made the village her home and found inspiration in the dramatic light and rapidly changing weather. The gentle landscapes and wild rolling seascapes she painted there in wind, snow, rain and sunshine are among her best-loved works. 

Focussing on Eardley’s relationship with Catterline, this book includes previously unpublished archival material as well as specially conducted interviews with many of those in the village who knew her, shedding new light on Eardley’s life and artistic practice. A vivid portrait is painted both of Eardley and of the village, showing the vital part Catterline played in her development as an artist. 

Patrick Elliott is Chief Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Galleries of Scotland and author of the highly successful True to Life: British Realist Painting in the 1920s & 1930s and Joan Eardley: A Sense of Place.