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42
40 George Campbell RHA (1917 - 1979)
Portrait of artist Leslie Zukor
Pencil, 23 x 15.5cm, Signed
41George Campbell RHA (1917 - 1979)
Portrait of artist Thomas McCreanor
Pen and ink, 24 x 19cm, Signed
At weekends in the early 1950s, the younger group of artists stayed with the Campbell brothers
at ‘Maurice’s cottage’ in the Mourne Mountains, Co. Down.
63
Mentored by Campbell, Leslie
Zukor often said that it was ‘George Campbell who taught him to paint’.
64
In the late 1940s, Armstrong exhibited in-group shows with the Campbell brothers, James
MacIntyre, Tom McCreanor and Leslie Zukor.
65
Sharing MacIntyre’s studio, Armstrong
worked towards a group show – ‘Exhibition of Paintings’ – with MacIntyre and McCreanor,
which was opened by Campbell in 1947. The following year Campbell reprised his role
as organizer, with two more exhibitions held at the CEMA gallery, ‘6 painters’ and ‘Art
in Ulster: An Exhibition of Nine Painters’. Artists that participated were Armstrong, the
Campbell brothers, Aaron McAfee, Gladys and Max MacCabe, McCreanor and O’Neill.
Fretting the exhibition would not receive adequate publicity, Campbell ‘demanded’
66
that
each artist produce a poster and paste them on walls and pillars in the city. Tom Davidson
was also persuaded to play a musical recital during the opening, which Campbell advertised
in the paper.
63
A writer, Maurice Irvine was John Irvine’s brother (RTÉ) and Arthur Campbell’s brother-in-law. John’s wife,
Cecily, was friendly with Madge and the group and often encouraged her husband to help them. Campbell,
Dillon and Armstrong received commissions from RTÉ in the 1960s and 1970s. Conversation with Mary Irvine
25 January 2015.
64
Correspondence with Sharon Zukor, 24 June 2014.
65
Leslie Zukor exhibited with Boys in the late 1940s and remained friends with Group until the 1970s.
66
MacIntyre, op. cit., p. 117.
fig.56: Arthur Campbell and Leslie Zukor
in Maurice’s cottage, 1950’s
fig.57: James MacIntyre and Arthur Armstrong