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Colin Middleton RHA RUAMBE (1910-1983)
Castle Park, Bangor
Oil on canvas, 61 x 61cm (24 x 24”)
Signed with monogram; also signed, inscribed and dated 1979 verso
This late work is one of the surprisingly small number of paintings by Colin Middleton that record
a specific location in Bangor, the town where he lived for the last decade of his life (a blue plaque
at 6 Victoria Road was unveiled in his honour in 2005). Middleton had first moved to Bangor
for a shorter period in 1953 and had painted at least two canvases of Castle Park at that time; the
turbulent and expressionist style of these works, typical of the early 1950s, is quite different to this
later painting, where the more formally organised and architectural arrangement creates a mood of
tranquillity.
It is notable, however, that both paintings do share such a vibrant palette. In the present work this
is used in a less obviously expressive manner than in the 1950s and short and controlled strokes of
high-toned colour are integrated into more subdued passages to imbue the scene with a subtle sense
of luminosity.The presence of figures is unusual in Middleton’s post-1960 landscapes but the moth-
er and child are reminiscent of his 1955 painting,
November Evening, Bangor Pier.
They are very
much in harmony with the woodland, introducing solid passages of colour that make connections
around the canvas, mirroring the shape of the tree to their right and occupying the triangle between
the diagonal path and the higher level of land.
The painting seems to convey a clear note of nostalgia; Bangor would have carried strong associa-
tions for Middleton of his own young family growing up in the 1950s and Castle Park appears to
have been a place he enjoyed. This particular view must have been painted close to North Down
Museum where, most appropriately, an exhibition of Middleton’s paintings of Bangor was held in
2013.
Dickon Hall March 2015
€12,000 - 16,000