... Eardley did in fact employ a little of each genre in her paintings. Social Realism aims for the, "...truthful, historically concrete portrayal of reality in its revolutionary development..." It also shows "idealised representations of heroic workers and soldiers, in a naturalistic style."2 In considering the latter part of this definition, it seems fitting to refer to Eardley's 'The Mixer Men' of 1944 [Plate 1]. This painting was inspired as a result of her job as a carpenter's assistant. The piece is full of gritty realism and is truthful in the sense that Eardley painted them through direct human contact. She slaps on the canvas a vision of how she sees these men which is in this case from behind the predominant figure. This viewpoint in reminiscent of Degas' 'keyhole' effect and possibly reflects her interest in the style and composition of this impressionistic artist. This notion of personal and human contact ...

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