Born and brought up in Edinburgh. She studied painting at Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen from 1966 to 1971 and The Royal College of Art from 1971 to 1974. The following ear she was awarded a Fellowship at Gloucester College of Art and Design in Cheltenham. In 1975 she returned to London and took the Art Teacher’s Certificate Course at Goldsmiths College, University of London. From 1976 she taught Drawing and Painting at Gray’s School of Art until 2004 when she took early retirement to complete the vast body of work which culminated in ‘War Tourist’. It was exhibited for 3 months in 2006 at Aberdeen Art Gallery, attracting nearly 30,000 visitors. ‘War Tourist’ was partly based on her father’s war backed up by extensive research following in his footsteps through Europe and Tunisia. She has been exhibiting her work since 1969 and is represented in numerous private and public collections. In 2018 Joyce was elected first woman President of the Royal Scottish Academy in 193 years finishing her term of office in November 2022.
