Lost Joan Eardley painting found in charity shop after 64 years, selling for £29,500 for research

Article Source: The Scottish Gallery A landscape painting by Scottish artist Joan Eardley, which disappeared into private ownership after leaving a Scottish gallery in 1961, has been found in an English charity shop. The painting later sold for £29,500, with all the money going towards medical research in the UK. The oil painting, titled Summer Fields, was found when a charity shop manager in the East Midlands accepted a dark canvas as part of a house clearance donation. A damaged paper label on the back of the frame offered a clue. It read: “Summer, Joan, Exhibited, The Scottish Gallery.” The shop staff contacted The Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh. A search of its historical records confirmed the painting's identity, 64 years after it was first sold.Uncovering the paper trailAfter receiving the enquiry from the East Midlands charity shop, Tommy Zyw, director of The Scottish Gallery, checked the gallery's handwritten sales books and old daily records. The records showed that Summer Fields was first sold by Joan Eardley in May 1961. After confirming the details, gallery staff arranged for the painting to be safely taken back to Edinburgh for a closer inspection. "From the moment it w...