With an infamous lack of a ‘signature’ look, Northern Irish painter Colin Middleton (1910-83) is something of an art historical chameleon. He worked in a wide variety of styles – from Surrealist to Expressionist to Cubist to Impressionist – with broad influences ranging from the Flemish Masters to Vincent van Gogh. Middleton used these styles indiscriminately and moved back and forth between them over the years and even decades, as the circumstances of his life or environment suggested them.
Three pictures by the eclectic painter drew keen bidding in a sale of Modern British and Irish art at Bonhams (25% buyer’s premium) in New Bond Street on June 12. The trio – two impasto Impressionist landscapes and one Cubist-style work – dated to the 1940s-50s and were sourced from private collections in Northern Ireland and North America. They sold within or above guides for a combined £42,500.