George Campbell and the Belfast Boys

Very pleased to receive a copy of Karen Reihill’s latest work, this time focussed on the fascinating Irish artist, George Campbell. Previously Karen has written a tremendous book on Gerard Dillon. These books are very welcome, as they give some proper weight to these important artists. Although he was born in Arklow, Campbell grew up in Belfast, where Dillon was from, and they knew each other from an early age. I personally prefer Dillon’s work, but Campbell’s became increasingly artistically sophisticated as he went to live and work in Spain.

As with the Dillon book, there is an accompanying exhibition at the Ava Gallery at Clandeboye in Northern Ireland , ancestral home of the Marquess of Dufferin and Ava. (The 4th Marquess was an Eton contemporary of Peter Watson and died in the War.)

I will be looking forward to visiting the show in August.