24 / 170
24
In 1943, George and Arthur published their booklet,
Ulster in Black and White
. Inside the
cover the brothers stated the book was breaking new ground, and wished to show something
of life in Ulster during the War adding ‘ because a measure of beauty is a necessity, not a
luxury.’ Artists Patricia Webb and Maurice Wilks contributed. Maurice Wilks, who exhibited
with Campbell at the Goodwin Gallery, Limerick and the Abbey Galleries, Clonmel in 1945
shared Campbell’s interest in the West of Ireland. Around this time, the critic
32
and poet John
Hewitt met the group and remained a figure of importance in Belfast during the 1940s and
1950s. Hewitt contributed to the small booklet,
Now in Ulster
, produced by the Campbell
brothers in 1944. Works by Colin Middleton, John Luke, John Turner, Arthur Campbell and
Gerard Dillon were illustrated.
The Campbell brothers rented a studio at 14 Clarence Buildings, Linenhall Street. George
held his first exhibition with his brother at the Mol Gallery, Belfast, on the 11 March 1944.
Friends remarked on their different personalities: ‘he [Arthur Campbell] was a gentle soul,
inclined to take his time about everything’.
33
George was ‘intense, personal and at times
explosive’.
34
Together, however, they made a good team and organized several exhibitions in
the 1940s.
32
Hewitt was ‘MacArt’ in the
Belfast Telegraph
for three years. He met Arthur and George Campbell in 1943.
33
James Macintyre,
Making my Mark
, Blackstaff Press, 2001, p. 93.
34
Arthur Armstrong,
Amongst Friends
, Martello, Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts, special issue, 1991, p. 94.
fig.32: ‘Ulster in Black & White’, 1943 with
Arthur Campbell’s signature
fig.33: Madge Campbell and Maurice Wilks,
Connemara, 1960’s.
fig.34: George and Arthur Campbell,
Mol Gallery, 1944
fig.35: ‘Now In Ulster’, 1944, front cover
drawing by Gerard Dillon.