A lost Joan Eardley painting has been rediscovered after 60+ years

Bringing together over 30 works by Joan Eardley, alongside paintings from the national collection, The Nature of Painting is an exhibition you won’t want to miss – but there’s more to the story than first meets the eye.

That’s because on display in this exhibition, located at the Modern Two, is a painting that had been thought of as ‘lost’ – and out of public view – for over 60 years. Summer Fields is an atmospheric landscape painted in the final years of Eardley’s life in Catterline, and was rediscovered by a manager from a charity shop in the East Midlands, who had taken it in as a house clearance donation.

A worn and fragmentary label showing the words: ‘Summer, Joan, Exhibited, The Scottish Gallery’ made him think twice, prompting him to get in touch with the gallery in question. A handwritten entry from the gallery’s archives, May 1961, had recorded the sale of the painting.

Now, 64 years later, the painting had returned, and conservation brought it back to its vibrant, atmospheric best. It was soon unveiled by The Scottish Gallery at the British Art Fair in September 2025, and exhibited at the gallery on Dundas Street, Edinburgh.

Here’s what Tommy Zyw, Director of The Scottish Gallery had to say: 

“This story speaks of the enduring power of Joan Eardley’s painting and of the role of careful stewardship, archives, and expertise in bringing such works back into the public arena. From Joan Eardley painting this work in Catterline, its sale in 1961, decades enjoyed privately then its arrival on the charity shop’s shelf, to the phone call that started its return to Scotland; we have been proud to support Summer Fields on its continuing journey.”

The painting has recently been purchased by a private collector, so it’s probably a good idea to go and see it while you can.

Sold on behalf of the charity from which it was discovered, the painting has achieved the largest single work sale in the charity’s history of £29,500 – which will go towards directly supporting vital medical research in the UK.

You can view Summer Fields at Modern Two, as part of the Joan Eardley: The Nature of Painting exhibition, on from now until 28th June.