120
110 George Campbell RHA RUA (1917-1979)
Long Ago and Far Away
Oil on board, 102 x 126cm (40 x 49½”)
Signed. Also signed and inscribed verso
Exhibited: The Oireachtas Annual Exhibition 1976 Catalogue No. 12
After an absence of five years, Campbell chose this work “Fado Agus Bhfad o bhaile” to show at the Oireachtas
exhibition, 1976. The title of this abstract landscape
Long Ago and Far Away
may point to his life during the early
1970’s or relate to his memories from his visits to the West of Ireland in the 1950’s and 60’s with many of his close
friends.
Working in a variety of styles and mediums, the early 1970’s was a period of reflection, for the artist. The ‘Troubles’
in Northern Ireland had spurred him to execute a series of works,
The Belfast Series
and friends Gerard Dillon and
Daniel O’Neill had died in their 50’s. His work also came in for negative comment. Art critics found his French
Modernist style out of date.
Prosperity in Ireland in the late 1960’s led to dramatic changes in the visual arts. Optical, Conceptual and Pop Art
emerged from a younger generation of artists. Campbell couldn’t comprehend the divergence in art practices while
his focus remained on Ireland’s Celtic heritage. Throughout the 1960’s and 70’s accompanied by friends, Campbell
returned to favourite monastic sites close to Glendalough, Clonmacnoise, and Inishmór for subject matter.
Referring to his abstract works in an interview in the 1960’s Campbell said, ”I don’t think there is really a great
deal of difference between the abstract things I paint and the figurative things. The figurative is in the abstract
anyway. Any abstract thing I paint is painted from my backlog of things…what I have garnered in imagination
and memory.”
Campbell often advised his students to interpret subjects for themselves. Encompassing texture and form,
Campbell’s abstract works acted as another vehicle to interpret his imagination, thoughts and feelings. In his final
solo show in Dublin at Gallery 22, November 1978, Campbell exhibited several abstract works that recall earlier
memories from Spain and Ireland
Memories of Lanzarote
and
Autumnal Complex.
Karen Reihill
Currently working on a loan exhibition “George Campbell & The Belfast Boys” for the Clandeboye Festival,
Summer, 2015
€6,000 - 10,000
