![A Colin Middleton painting, If I Were a Blackbird (1941). Navy background with abstract brown and yellow shapes](/sites/default/files/styles/w1024/public/2023-10/648%20x%20656%20hero%20regular%20%28box%29%20NEWS%20HEADER%20%2831%29.png?itok=26GzSwz6)
Colin Middleton: Among this Peace and Noise
An exhibition featuring paintings and drawings spanning six decades by artist, Colin Middleton.
We're delighted to welcome the 'Colin Middleton: Among this Peace and Noise' exhibition to Ulster Museum.
Colin Middleton was born in Belfast in 1910, a city then at the very height of its industrial, economic and social expansion. The artist lived, worked and painted in Belfast almost continuously until 1947, all while the city survived the Great Depression, the Second World War and the Belfast Blitz, as well as episodes of social unrest. In the 1930s and 1940s, Colin Middleton established a reputation as arguably the most progressive artist working in Ireland. He quickly came to be regarded as one of the leading Irish painters of his generation.
This exhibition features paintings and drawings spanning six decades, drawn from private lenders and the National Museums NI collections. It examines Middleton's complex relationship with Belfast, particularly the ongoing significance of his early career as a damask designer and the manner in which it shaped his development as an artist. This exhibition also looks at how Middleton's powerful vision of Belfast and its inhabitants, provided a radical visual response to the city during this tumultuous period.
![A Colin Middleton painting, If I Were a Blackbird (1941). Navy background with abstract brown and yellow shapes](/sites/default/files/styles/w1024/public/2023-10/648%20x%20656%20hero%20regular%20%28box%29%20NEWS%20HEADER%20%2831%29.png?itok=26GzSwz6)
Image credits: If I Were a Blackbird (1941) Colin Middleton Oil on Canvas ©️ The Estate of Colin Middleton