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Colin Middleton , Irish, 1910-1983

Title

Abstract Figures

Date1958

MediumPastel, gouache and graphite on paper

Dimensions

27.9 x 22.8 cm

Signedlower left: [in monogram] 58

Credit LinePurchased, 2017

Object numberNGI.2017.33

DescriptionBorn in Belfast, Colin Middleton is among most eclectic twentieth century Irish artists. From the late 1940s he moved with conviction through Cubist, Surrealist and Expressionist styles. Largely self-taught, he worked in the family damask business until 1947 when the opportunity to teach art enabled him to give more time to painting. He was represented by Victor Waddington from 1948, shortly after his return to Belfast following a year spent on a community farm in Thelnetham. Middleton made a precarious living from his powerful art. Through rich colour and expressive use of paint he represented the life and struggles of ordinary people.

This work, like much of his output in the 1950s, can be seen as representing Middleton’s response to the post-war world. There is a sense of the universality of suffering, the lasting effect the war on the emotional and spiritual life of humanity. Middleton saw himself as part of the European painting tradition and this abstracted image of figures shows the influence of Picasso.

ProvenancePurchased at auction, Whyte's & Sons Auctioneers, Dublin, 2 October 2017, lot 57