George Campbell RHA (1919-1979)
Memory of Cantaleria, Tenerife
Oil on board, 50 x 60cm (19½ x 23½'')
Signed; inscribed verso

 

Likely dating to the 1960s, Memory of Cantaleria, Tenerife is a richly...

George Campbell RHA (1919-1979)
Memory of Cantaleria, Tenerife
Oil on board, 50 x 60cm (19½ x 23½'')
Signed; inscribed verso

 

Likely dating to the 1960s, Memory of Cantaleria, Tenerife is a richly layered evocation of place by George Campbell, whose deep affinity with Spain and its islands shaped some of the most distinctive works of his career. Though Irish by birth, Campbell’s imagination was profoundly Mediterranean; Tenerife, with its volcanic topography and brilliant Atlantic light, provided fertile ground for his expressive, semi-abstract language.

The composition unfolds as a palimpsest of recollection rather than a literal topography. A sweeping shoreline and luminous sea are set against the commanding presence of Mount Teide rising in cool blues in the distance. In the foreground, architectural fragments, village forms and still-life motifs interlock in flattened planes of colour—earth reds, chalk whites, marine blues and olive greens—suggesting both interior and exterior space. Campbell’s characteristic handling is evident in the confident structuring of the picture surface: passages of translucent wash are set against denser, textured applications of paint, creating a dynamic tension between memory and immediacy.

The title itself signals the artist’s intention. This is not reportage but recollection—an atmosphere distilled. The geometry of battlement-like forms and whitewashed houses nods to the vernacular architecture of the Canary Islands, while the fractured composition reveals Campbell’s engagement with European modernism, filtered through his own lyrical sensibility.

Born in Arklow, Co. Wicklow, Campbell was largely self-taught, initially pursuing music before turning fully to painting. His first one-man exhibition was held in Dublin in 1945, and he subsequently exhibited regularly with the Irish Exhibition of Living Art. From the 1950s onward he spent extended periods in Spain, forging close connections with Spanish artists and intellectuals; in 1966 he was awarded the Silver Medal at the International Art Exhibition in Ibiza. His work is represented in major public collections including the National Gallery of Ireland and the Irish Museum of Modern Art.

Memory of Cantaleria, Tenerife belongs to a mature phase in Campbell’s oeuvre, when landscape, memory and abstraction coalesced into a highly personal visual language. At once structural and atmospheric, it stands as a compelling testament to the artist’s enduring dialogue between Ireland and the sunlit landscapes of the Atlantic fringe.

View more View less