Following a BA in Art History at Hartwick College, USA, Peggy Beardmore completed an M.Litt in Museum and Gallery Studies at the University of St Andrews. Remaining in Scotland, she afterwards worked with a variety of arts and heritage organisations. Beardmore was awarded her PhD in History of Art by University of Aberdeen in 2017. It was this research into the significance of Hospitalfield in the development of Scottish art, funded by the Hospitalfield Alumni Association, that formed the basis for Students of Hospitalfield. Beardmore remains an active researcher of modern British Art.