Joan Eardley was born in 1921 to Captain William Eardley and Irene Morrison. Her father, an English army officer, had been billeted at Maryhill Barracks in Glasgow, and her connection to the city formed the subject matter for much of her work. Eardley found inspiration in the city's streets, both in the façades of the tenements and shops, and in the faces of the people who inhabited them.