Joan Eardley's 'Andrew' reunited with collection at Scottish university
‘Andrew’ was one of the boys painted by Joan Eardley at her Glasgow studio
The boy Andrew is to be seen again.
A painting by one of Scotland’s most celebrated 20th‑century artists has been reunited with a collection now held by the University of Aberdeen.
‘Andrew’ (1955), by Joan Eardley, was once part of the personal collection of the Linklater family, with many pieces donated to the university in 1976 by Marjorie Linklater following the death of her husband Eric Linklater, the author and former rector of the university.
The Eardley work has now been acquired by the university, with the work now hanging once more alongside other pieces in the collection, which includes works by JD Fergusson, SJ Peploe, Leslie Hunter, Anne and Redpath.
The painting is a full-length portrait of Andrew Samson, one of a family of working-class children who became the main subject of Eardley’s painting when working in her studio in Glasgow’s Townhead. The children, including two of Andrew’s two sisters, Pat and Ann, would often visit the artist during the 1950s and 1960s and later featured in some of her most coveted works.
‘Andrew’ arrives as the University as it celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Linklater bequest with a major exhibition of its works running throughout 2026. The painting was unveiled at a private event last week with Magnus Linklater, Eric and Marjorie’s son.
The purchase of the painting ensures public access to the painting, which is regarded particularly meaningful in the North East given Eardley’s later career was spent in Catterline, just south of Stonehaven, where she focused on painting landscapes.
Neil Curtis, Head of University Collections, said: “This major acquisition is a significant addition to the University’s collection of 20th‑century century paintings, made possible thanks to the exceptional generosity of our funding partners. By reuniting this portrait of Andrew Samson with a Catterline landscape bequeathed by Eric Linklater, we are now able to display a more fully representative view of Joan Eardley’s work and better understand the Linklater family’s collecting legacy.”
The painting was secured thanks to generous support from Art Fund, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Duncan & Susan Rice Art Fund, held by the University of Aberdeen Development Trust SCIO, and Scotland’s National Fund for Acquisitions.
Joan Eardley (1921–1963) is one of Scotland’s most celebrated 20th-century artists, recognised for her depictions of Glasgow’s street children and the landscapes of Catterline.
She died from breast cancer in 1963, at the age of just 42.
With the latest acquisition, the Linklater Collection now comprises eleven important Scottish modernist paintings by artists including
The exhibition ‘Aberdeen Artworlds: the Linklater Collection’ in the Gallery of Sir Duncan Rice Library will run to December 2026.
The exhibition draws on a research project “Aberdeen’s Artworlds c.1976: The Linklater Bequest in Context” by the Department of Art History to mark the 50th year of the Linklater bequest.
Led by Dr Joanne Anderson, Dr Hans Hönes and Dr Catriona McAra the research reframes the painting collection as an instrument to promote Scottish art, and as a contribution intended to support art and culture in the north-east of Scotland
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