George Campbell’s love affair with the Spanish way of life, its people and their rituals and rhythms was first ignited during a flamenco performance he attended of the Carmen Amaya troupe of dancers at London's Princess Theatre in the late 1940s. 1951 marked the artist’s inaugural visit to Spanish soil and the connection he made there was to have a lasting effect on both his style and subject matter, until his death in 1979. Following his first exposure to the Iberian Peninsula Campbell forged an instant bond with the South of the country and returned annually to the small fishing village of El Palo, outside Málaga, the birth place of his Malaguenian counterpart, Pablo Picasso.

Spanish Street Party is an exemplary work from the artist’s oeuvre. Here he marries the deeply religious Semana Santa procession with the Spanish love of la fiesta. This fusion of the pious, with the gaiety of a celebratory atmosphere, is mirrored in his palette. The sombre blues and browns are lifted by the energetic reds and the vigorous yellows, which draw the eye towards the background of the canvas to the image of the cathedral, emphasising the sacred nature of the occasion. The Semana Santa procession, a precisely structured event, full of rules and symbolism seems to have captivated Campbell who recorded dutifully their symbols and codes in many of his works. Here he depicts the religious headdress and flags of the Brotherhood, exhibited as a sign of mourning for the suffering Christ, the imagen, a sacred sculpture of a biblical scene, elevated on a high stand and the priest, with his clerical collar heightened in white in the foreground. Within these Easter processions there is a consistent element of musicality. Campbell himself was a talented guitarist, recognised as an equal of the Flamenco musicians of Andalucía and this is reflected in his canvas. His fluid application of paint in the ‘flattened’, solid blocks of colour, are rhythmically balanced with the forceful dynamic brush strokes at the heart of the celebrations. These attract the eye and amplify the sounds and movement within the spectacle.

The cultural links between catholic Spain and Ireland are undeniable but Campbell’s canvas also reflects both countries’ mutual love of collective celebration. Campbell’s emphasising of these cultural bonds has been recognised through the years; firstly by the naming of a street in the town of El Palo in his honour, secondly, his ‘knighthood’ as a Commander with the Insiginia and Privileges of the Order of the Merito Civile, in 1978 and lastly, the establishment of the George Campbell Travel Award by the Spanish Cultural Institute in Dublin and the Arts Councils of both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in 1980.