Arthur Armstrong RHA (1924-1996) Spanish Landscape Oil on board, 91.5 x 76cm (36 x 30'') Signed Exhibited: 'Arthur Armstrong Exhibition', The Ritchie Hendriks Gallery, September 1968, Cat No. 4...

Arthur Armstrong RHA (1924-1996) Spanish Landscape Oil on board, 91.5 x 76cm (36 x 30'') Signed Exhibited: 'Arthur Armstrong Exhibition', The Ritchie Hendriks Gallery, September 1968, Cat No. 4 and in the current collection since that date. A lifelong friend of George Campbell, Arthur Armstrong first travelled to Spain in his company in the 1950s. Just as in the West of Ireland they often painted the same scenes, so in Spain they would work together and influence one another. Like Campbell, when Armstrong came to depict a landscape he wasn't merely interested in the outer mantle of the site, he was fascinated by the geology underlying it. Spanish Landscape I is almost a topographical model due to the amount of impasto he has employed. This sculptural quality serves to emphasise the power of the waterfall as it carves its way through the rock. The faceted planes and interlocking shapes emphasise the ruggedness of the scene. His use of colour conveys the dry, unwelcoming face of nature which renders this particular location unsympathetic to human habitation. Painted as it was in the late 1960s, it is tempting to wonder if Patrick Hickey was influenced by this work when he came to create his powerful Wicklow landscapes. S?le Connaughton-Deeny, May 2007

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