MURAL I
Colin Middleton MBE RHA (1910-1983)Throughout the six decades that he painted, Middleton never left his initial training as a damask designer far behind, although at times this influence is almost submerged within paintings. Middleton’s move to the north coast of Northern Ireland in the late 1950s marked a sharp break in his work; he found a landscape and, through this, a manner of painting that coalesced to express the point at which he found himself as a man and as an artist. During this period, Middleton seems to have been ready to re-introduce elements of his design background into his painting.
This series of panels demonstrate the complexity of design and visual inventiveness of which Middleton was capable. They were painted for Morelli’s café, famous as an ice cream parlour, on the seafront in Portstewart. This was arranged by Noel Campbell, a local architect who had been instrumental in a number of commissions for murals Middleton received in the late 1960s and 1970s. It was as rare then as it is now in Northern Ireland for an artist to be thus involved in architectural projects, so these panels have an historical resonance as well as occupying a very particular place within Middleton’s career.
Like the large panel Middleton painted for the Botanic Inn in Belfast, these panels evolve their own self-referential language, while relating to his work at this period and occasionally echoing earlier paintings. Images recur throughout the panels, although each has its own particular theme or mood. The planned location, an ice cream parlour in a holiday town, might well have influenced their bright colours and energetic exuberance, as well as a choice of imagery likely to appeal to children.
There are no known photographs of the panels installed in Morelli’s, or any record of how the paintings were intended to be arranged. The diverse formats suggest that the location imposed certain demands upon the artist; the square format of two of the paintings was almost ubiquitous in Middleton’s work at this time, but the elongated panels are unusual. The cross-fertilisation of ideas does suggest that they were closely hung to be viewed together.
One panel (lot 27) dominates by virtue of the multitude of ideas with which it seems to vibrate. A simplified rendering of what appears to be a llama or alpaca is repeated on various scales, overlapping and creating a dizzying and confused sense of spatial recession. Small panels are placed within these with simplified and angular depictions of fish, a cockerel, a dog and a cat. The latter two recall the notation of Ancient Egypt and the dog is highly reminiscent of depictions of Anubis, the Egyptian jackal headed god (the alpaca might also be read as an image of a Pharaoh dog). In fact these panels carry some overtones of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. The alpaca shape is subtly repeated in the forms of the little house, the train and the girl, all reminders of the holiday spirit. A similar fish image was used by Middleton for the sign of a fish and chip shop in an early painting of Belfast, presumably here another reminder of summer in Portstewart.
The simple form of the house reappears in other panels (lot 29), a shorthand that Middleton again used as early as the 1940s in some early surrealist paintings. These other panels are more abstract and economic after the overflowing ideas of the first painting. A child with pigtails dominates the other large square panel (lot 28), broken up into complex rhythmically repeating shapes. One of the upright panels (lot 30) includes another standing girl, whose striped top and leggings might easily have been observed in Portstewart in the 1970s.
Much of the imagery is simplified until it becomes extremely ambiguous. A driveway seems to lead up to a small house to the left of the girl in the striped top. The other tall panel could be read as showing a figure lying on the sand with the blue sea beyond leading to an island, or a rock beyond. Throughout Middleton’s paintings and drawings the female form is often present is extremely abstracted form. The deep blues and yellows that recur in other panels recall the idealised memories of sand, sea, sky and sun in childhood memories.
The more complex horizontal panel (see lot 29) is arguably the most ambitious of the group, full of energy and again full of shapes that hint at interpretations. Perhaps there is a house seen in the distance behind a tree at the far right, or a figure in the section just to the left of that? Middleton’s vocabulary is derived from the shapes of objects in the visible world which over decades he has pared into the most visually effective and communicative signifier capable of carrying its meaning. These panels are more than just narrative, although they seem to contain so much. It is up to the viewer to find a personal interpretation or just to enjoy their stimulating presence.
Dickon Hall
Killinchy, Co. Down
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Clause 1
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Clause 2
(a) The bidding and advances shall be regulated by and at the absolute discretion of the auctioneer and he shall have the right to refuse any bid or bids. NOTE: Where an agent bids, even on behalf of a disclosed client, the auctioneer nevertheless has the right at his discretion to refuse any such bid.
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Clause 3
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Clause 4
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(b) If any purchaser fails to pay in full for any lot within 21 days of the date of sale such lot may at any time thereafter at the auctioneer's discretion be put up for sale by auction again or sold privately; if upon such re-sale a lower price is obtained than was obtained on the first sale the purchaser in default on the first sale shall make good the difference in price and the expenses of re-sale which shall become debt due from him.
(c) Interest at 2 per cent per month and legal costs (if any) for recovery of monies due shall be payable by the purchaser on any overdue account.
Clause 5
(a) Each buyer, by making a bid, acknowledges that he has satisfied himself as to the physical condition, age and catalogue description of each lot (including but not restricted to whether the lot is damaged or has been repaired or restored).
(b) All lots are sold with all faults and imperfections and errors of description and the Auctioneer and its employees, servants or agents shall not be responsible for any error of description or for the condition or authenticity of any lot, save for Clause 5 (c) below. Written or verbal condition reports may be supplied by the Auctioneer on request but these are merely statements of opinion, and any error or omission in these reports may not be taken as grounds for a cancellation of sale or refund of any part of the purchase price or the cost of any repairs to the lot or lots reported on
(c) A purchaser shall be at liberty to reject any lot if he - (i) gives the auctioneer written notice of intention to question the genuineness of the lot within seven days from the date of sale; AND (ii) proves that the lot is a deliberate forgery and (iii) returns to the auctioneer within 20 days from the date of sale the lot in the same condition as it was at the time of sale; provided that the auctioneer may, at his discretion, on receiving a request in writing from the purchaser, extend for a reasonable period the time for return of the lot to enable it to be submitted to expertisation. NOTE: The onus of proving a lot to be a deliberate forgery is on the purchaser.
(d) Where a lot has been submitted to expertisation, all costs of such expertisation shall be paid by the person who retains the certificate of expertisation and item or items to which the certificate relates.
(e) Where the purchaser of a lot discharges the onus and acts in accordance with sub-clause (b) of this clause, the auctioneer shall rescind the sale and repay to the purchaser the purchase money paid by him in respect of the lot.
(f) No lot shall be rejected if, subsequent to the sale, it has been marked by an expert committee or treated by any other process unless the auctioneer's permission to subject the lot to such treatment has first been obtained in writing.
(g) Any lot listed as a "collection, range, portfolio etc." or stated to comprise or contain a collection or range of items which are not described shall be put up for sale not subject to rejection and shall be taken by the purchaser with all (if any) faults, lack of genuineness and errors of description and numbers of items in the lot, and the purchaser shall have no right to reject the lot; except that, notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this sub-clause, where before a sale a person intending to bid at the sale gives notice in writing to, and satisfies the auctioneer that any such lot contains any item or items undescribed in the sale catalogue and that person specifically describes that item or those items in that notice, then that item or those items shall, as between the auctioneer and that person, to be taken to form part of the description of the lot.
Clause 6
The respective rights and obligations of the parties shall be governed and interpreted by Irish law, and the buyer hereby submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish Courts.
Special Conditions
a) The buyer shall pay the Auctioneer a commission at the rate of 20% (Art sales) or 24% (Collectibles sales). The Buyer's Premium is added to the hammer price of all lots and is subject to VAT at the prevailing rate.
(b) The Auctioneer or its employees, servants or agents may, on request organise packing and shipping of lots purchased or may order on the buyer's behalf third parties to pack or ship purchases. Under no circumstances does the Auctioneer accept any liability whatsoever for any loss or damage howsoever occasioned in the course of such service.
(c) The buyer authorises the Auctioneer to use any photographs or illustrations of any lot purchased for any or all purposes as the Auctioneer may require. The placing of a bid will be taken as full agreement to all the above conditions.
WHYTE AND SONS AUCTIONEERS LIMITED, 2022
We hold two types of auction - TIMED and LIVE SALEROOM
1. TIMED AUCTIONS
WHAT IS A TIMED AUCTION?Timed auctions do not have an auctioneer calling the bids – there’s just a bidding time frame and whoever bids highest during the time frame wins. Each lot can be bid on for a defined time period. At the end of this period, the bidder who has submitted the highest bid wins the lot, provided the bid exceeds the reserve price. You tell us the most you’re willing to pay – and we’ll bid intelligently for you, only bidding enough for you to meet the reserve or stay in the lead. Don’t worry, your maximum bid is not disclosed, and is held in confidence on our bidding system.
WHEN ONLINE BIDDING STARTS - YOU CAN LEAVE BIDS online and your bid will start at one step above the previous bid or at the start price if no other bid. You will be notified by email if you get outbid before the auction starts.
ONCE THE AUCTION BEGINS TO FINISH, ON THE DATE AND TIME SPECIFIED, THE EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS CEASE and you should follow the auction on-line to see how your bids are doing. Make sure you have logged in if you wish to bid.
WHEN THE AUCTION BEGINS TO FINISH ON THE DATE AND TIME SPECIFIED,THE BIDDING FOR EACH LOT REMAINS OPEN FOR 45 SECONDS at a start price determined by the reserve or bids already received. Each lot will be open and remain open for bidding until its end time is reached; the end time will be extended by 45 seconds if another bid is received. At the end time, if there are no further bids and the highest bid received equals or exceeds the reserve price the lot is sold to highest bidder.
The Buyers Premium for Art sales is 20% plus VAT ( 24.6% gross). The Buyers Premium for Collectibles sales is 24% plus VAT (29.52% gross). The Buyers Premium will be added to your winning bid amount. Your invoice will detail all the payment, collection and shipping particulars.
2. LIVE SALEROOM AUCTION:
If you can't attend the auction in the saleroom you can email or post or telephone bids to us, or you can book a telephone line to bid during the sale. Contact us on +353 16762888 or bids@whytes.ie
To bid on-line at a Live Saleroom Auction:
• Log in or register bid.whytes.ie
• Visit the online auction catalogue
• Find the lot number you are interested in.
· The current highest bid will be displayed
• The minimum bid required to beat the highest bid will also be shown.
· You can place your bid. The screen will show the new highest bid and will indicate if that bid is yours. Note: if a previous bidder has left a bid that equals yours the previous bidder will win the lot unless you outbid them. If the screen doesn’t confirm that your bid is winning you will need to bid again if you wish to buy the lot. Don’t worry -the system will not allow you to bid against yourself.
• The live auction will begin at the announced date and time and will be sold in lot number order by the auctioneer.
• Invoices will be issued to successful bidders on the next working day after the sale has ended.
BIDDING STEPS:
Up to €300 x€10
Up to €700 x €20
Up to €1,300 x €50
Up to €3,000 x €100
Up to €7,000 x €200
Up to €13,000 x €500
Up to €30,000 x €1,000
Up to €40,000 x €2,000
Up to €70,000 x €2,000
Up to €130,000 x €5,000
Up to €500,000 x €10,000
A FEW TIPS FOR ABSENTEE BIDDERS:
Bid the maximum price you would pay for the lot; we will try and secure the lot for you at the lowest possible price. For instance if you bid €2,000 on a lot and the highest other bid we receive is €1,200 you get it for €1,250. Most people tend to bid in round numbers, e.g. €500. It’s often a good idea to bid an odd number, e.g. €520, or €540 which will outbid an even number. Check the results the day after the sale: these are published on our website www.whytes.ie at about 10am on the day after the sale. Successful bidders are also notified of results by mail.
TIE BIDS: if two or more equal bids are received the lot will be sold to the first received.
The Buyers Premium for Art sales is 20% plus VAT ( 24.6% gross). The Buyers Premium for Collectibles sales is 24% plus VAT (29.52% gross). The Buyers Premium will be added to your winning bid amount. Your invoice will detail all the payment, collection and shipping particulars.