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Photography
Campbell never spoke about his interest in the art of photography but perhaps this reflected
how photography was perceived in Ireland before the early 1970s. Photography was largely
made up of press photographers, portraitists or tourist images, such as John Hinde’s
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stage set
scenes. Campbell enjoyed spending time observing the character of people with his camera
in Spain and Ireland from the 1950s. His friend Manus Walsh recalled, ‘He loved to observe
people around him in cafes or on the street. At times he would place his box camera on the
table and quietly take photographs without anyone knowing.’
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Campbell’s practice of carrying a camera
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on sketching trips was most likely influenced by
his brother’s interest in the medium.
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In 1947, Arthur Campbell stayed with his brother
in Dublin and they went on walkabouts making sketches and taking photographs of the
inner city. It is likely Arthur introduced his brother to photographer, Paddy Walsh,
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who he
knew through his association with the Irish Youth Hostel Association (IYHA). In the same
year, George Campbell purchased a second-hand camera.
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Their approach to photography
was notably different. In an interview Arthur Campbell stated that he ‘usually scouted
around…to take a back view…not a direct view of someone’. Explaining his reason for this,
he explained, ‘I was always very shy about seeming to annoy people or insult them’.
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Arthur’s
photographs of children were more often captured from behind a tree or in the shadows of
buildings. George preferred to engage directly with his subject, ‘Girls’, ‘Pedregalejó’ (fig.75)t.
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Several of Hinde’s images depicting West of Ireland scenes were found in the artist’s scrapbooks.
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Interview with Manus Walsh, Malaga, 17 January 2014.
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Martin Whelan stated Campbell always brought a camera on sketching trips in Donegal. Conversation with
Martin Whelan, 28 January 2015.
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Arthur Campbell produced two books of photographs,
Return Journey
, 1987, and
Looking Back
, 1989, both
published by Friar’s Bush Press.
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From the late 1940s, Campbell frequently stayed with Walsh in Casino Road, Marino Dublin 3.
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George Campbell, ‘Joxer Daly’s Dublin’, unidentified typed manuscript dated 1947. PRONI, Arthur
Campbell’s papers, D/4122/H/19.
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Arthur Campbell in
Faces of Ulster: Arthur Campbell, Photographer
, Flying Fox Films/RTÉ, 1988.
fig.66: George Campbell with his camera
fig.67: ‘George Campbell, ‘Musicians, Malaga’