Joan Eardley – The Forgotten Artist

Life drawing has slipped in and out of vogue in recent decades, but as public attention shifts to the importance of mental health and wellbeing, it is enjoying something of a resurgence. A recent study by the BBC and Newcastle University compared memory and cognition in a group of 30 adults: they asked 10 to walk briskly, 10 to do puzzles such as crosswords and sudoku and 10 to attend life drawing classes. The experiment took place over 8 weeks, with a series of tests carried out across the volunteers at the beginning of the study and at the end. The life drawers, it turned out, showed significant improvement in memory and cognitive function following the experiment.