Colin Middleton RHA RUA (1910-1983) Castle Park Oil on canvas, 28 x 38cm, (11 x 15'') Signed; also signed, inscribed with title, numbered 152 and dated 1953 on the reverse Original artist's label...

Colin Middleton RHA RUA (1910-1983) Castle Park Oil on canvas, 28 x 38cm, (11 x 15'') Signed; also signed, inscribed with title, numbered 152 and dated 1953 on the reverse Original artist's label verso Colin Middleton moved to Bangor in 1953 from Ardglass, where he had experienced the most productive and successful period of his career to date. He continued to work from his environment in North Down as he had around Strangford, painting in Conlig and Ballyree on the edge of the town, as well as in Bangor itself. These paintings are in general less turbulent than those of the Ardglass period; Middleton had achieved success and a measure of financial security through his association with Victor Waddington and his paintings around Bangor occasionally include his young children, reflecting a period of domestic happiness. Castle Park is in the heart of Bangor, but Middleton treats it as an unpeopled landscape. Its broad handling and exaggerated non-naturalistic colour is the development of the loose, expressionistic style of landscape of the Ardglass period, moving towards a more stylised, rhythmic manner of painting. There is even a suggestion of Gauguin in the shapes that dominate the right side of the canvas, an influence which is even clearer in 'Cottages, Ardtole'. It is a dense and shallow space that Middleton portrays, but its remarkable tonal range and expansive, confident mood avoid any sense of claustrophobia.

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