Colin Middleton
Colin Middleton was born in 1910 in Belfast. His oeuvre was widely influenced by the politics of the time affecting the city and, more globally, Europe, the early days of the Second World War and the Belfast Blitz amongst others. He studied at Belfast College of Art before taking evening classes at the Belfast Royal Academy while helping the familys damask business after his fathers death in 1933. He quickly became associated with other Northern Irish painters such as Daniel ONeill, Gerard Dillon or Neville Johnson, touring with them through group shows organized by his representative an art dealer Victor Waddington. His first major solo exhibition was held at the Belfast Museum and Art Gallery in October 1943 as a creative response to the citys bombardment by German air raids in 1941. Middleton started exhibiting with the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) in Dublin in 1938 and became a full member in 1970. Considered by art historian Dickon Hall to be a decade of recognition for Colin Middleton, the 1970s put the artist on a pedestal. In 1969 he was created MBE while a major retrospective of his works was held at both the Ulster Museum and the Hugh Lane Gallery in 1976 and received an honorary doctorate by Queens University in 1972. These years also saw the achievement of Middletons new body of works entitled the 'Wilderness Series' and, subsequently, the 'Westerness Series' influenced by his travels to Spain and Australia. His oeuvre and style evolved throughout his career, embracing a neo-impressionist and surrealist vision of his time. (whytes.ie)
-
![GOOGENBARRA [sic], WEST CORK, 1974 by Colin Middleton sold for 6,200 at Whyte's Auctions](/images/archive/20161128/49_1.jpg "GOOGENBARRA [sic], WEST CORK, 1974 by Colin Middleton sold for 6,200 at Whyte's Auctions")
'GOOGENBARRA [sic], WEST CORK, 1974'
- Price Realised: 6,200
- Sale: 28 November 2016
- oil on board
- 11Ύ x 11Ύin. (29.85 x 29.85cm)
-
'MAYO'
- Price Realised: 6,200
- Sale: 17 February 2004
- gouache on card
- 15 by 15cm., 6 by 6in.
-
'THE READER'
- Price Realised: 6,000
- Sale: 18 November 2003
- oil on panel
- 41 by 25cm., 16 by 10in.
-
'MOURNE LANDSCAPE, ROSTREVOR II'
- Price Realised: 6,000
- Sale: 18 February 2003
- oil on board
- 30 by 30cm., 12 by 12in.
-
'LANDSCAPE WITH HOUSES'
- Price Realised: 5,800
- Sale: 01 October 2018
- oil on canvas
- 11 x 13in. (27.94 x 33.02cm)
-
'BLACK ROCKS, 1953'
- Price Realised: 5,000
- Sale: 22 March 2021
- oil on canvas
- 10 x 14in. (25.40 x 35.56cm)
-
'NOVEMBER, NEWCASTLE, 1971'
- Price Realised: 5,000
- Sale: 29 September 2014
- oil on board
- 12 by 12in., 30 by 30cm.
-
'CALINE: BRUGGE, c.1968'
- Price Realised: 5,000
- Sale: 26 November 2012
- oil on masonite board
- 36 by 36in., 91.44 by 91.44cm.
-
'WOMAN AND BIRD and WOMAN WITH MOON, 1937 (A PAIR)'
- Price Realised: 5,000
- Sale: 30 April 2007
- pen and ink with wash on buff-coloured paper
- 20 by 25cm., 7.75 by 9.75in.
-
'DANCING FORMS'
- Price Realised: 5,000
- Sale: 19 November 2002
- gouache on paper laid on board
- 50 by 62cm., 19.5 by 24.5in.
-
'LEA VALLEY, CORK, 1971'
- Price Realised: 4,800
- Sale: 26 September 2016
- oil on board
- 12 x 12in. (30.48 x 30.48cm)
-
'UNTITLED ABSTRACT'
- Price Realised: 4,600
- Sale: 07 December 2020
- oil on masonite board
- 18 x 23½in. (45.72 x 59.69cm)
-
'THE MOSS, DRUMRUSH'
- Price Realised: 4,600
- Sale: 18 February 2003
- oil on board
- 30 by 30cm., 12 by 12in.
-
![EVENING: CASTLEWELLAN [COUNTY DOWN],1964 by Colin Middleton sold for 4,500 at Whyte's Auctions](/images/archive/20130527/025.jpg "EVENING: CASTLEWELLAN [COUNTY DOWN],1964 by Colin Middleton sold for 4,500 at Whyte's Auctions")
'EVENING: CASTLEWELLAN [COUNTY DOWN],1964'
- Price Realised: 4,500
- Sale: 27 May 2013
- oil on board
- 11 by 15in., 27.5 by 37.5cm.
-
'OLD WOMAN AND CLOCK'
- Price Realised: 4,200
- Sale: 02 October 2017
- oil and ink on board
- 8Ύ x 8Ύin. (22.23 x 22.23cm)
-
'LETTERMORE'
- Price Realised: 4,200
- Sale: 18 February 2003
- oil on board
- 15 by 15cm., 6 by 6in.
-
'UNTITLED, 1948'
- Price Realised: 4,000
- Sale: 09 March 2020
- oil on canvas laid on board
- 13 x 11in. (33.02 x 27.94cm)
-
'A DAY IN THE COUNTRY, 1970'
- Price Realised: 4,000
- Sale: 09 March 2020
- oil on board
- 11½ x 12in. (29.21 x 30.48cm)
-
'WOMAN WITH BIRDS, 1985'
- Price Realised: 3,800
- Sale: 28 November 2016
- pastel and pencil
- 22½ x 22½in. (57.15 x 57.15cm)
-
'ASTRAL SYMBOLS III'
- Price Realised: 3,800
- Sale: 26 September 2016
- oil on canvas
- 14½ x 11in. (36.83 x 27.94cm)
-
'ASTRAL SYMBOLS'
- Price Realised: 3,800
- Sale: 26 September 2016
- oil on canvas
- 14Ό x 10Όin. (36.20 x 26.04cm)
-
'CELTIC ICON, c.1963'
- Price Realised: 3,800
- Sale: 26 May 2014
- oil on board
- 12 by 12in., 30 by 30cm.
-
'TULLYBRANNIGAN, COUNTY DOWN'
- Price Realised: 3,800
- Sale: 29 November 2005
- gouache on paper
- 15 by 16cm., 6 by 6.25in.
-
'CUBIST DESIGN'
- Price Realised: 3,400
- Sale: 09 March 2020
- watercolour
- 8½ x 8½in. (21.59 x 21.59cm)
-
'FEMALE TORSO'
- Price Realised: 3,400
- Sale: 28 November 2006
- gouache on paper
- 46 by 46cm., 18 by 18in.
-
'DANCING FIGURE 1: BARCELONA, DANCING FIGURE 2: BARCELONA and DANCING FIGURE 3: BARCELONA, 1975 (SET OF THREE)'
- Price Realised: 3,200
- Sale: 04 March 2019
- ink; (3)
- 7Ύ x 8Ύin. (19.69 x 22.23cm)
-
'MOURNE LANDSCAPE, ROSTREVOR, COUNTY DOWN'
- Price Realised: 3,000
- Sale: 01 October 2018
- oil on board
- 12 x 12in. (30.48 x 30.48cm)
-
'ANTRIM LANDSCAPE'
- Price Realised: 3,000
- Sale: 12 June 2005
- watercolour
- 18 by 23cm., 7 by 9in.