A Mini Retrospective of Harold Riley's Salford work
Salford Museum and Art Gallery 4 May to 23 February 2014
After checking out the introductory poster and venturing amongst some of the many masterpieces, not shown for some time, of this Salford artist in no time at all we were face to face with the post graduate student covering paintings of his life cycle in Salford and varied career of photography, portraits and imaginative studies.
Having kindly agreed to our private interview I was fascinated with his comments, explanations and comparisons which painted a clear picture of his worldliness and experiences and his close relationship with L.S. Lowry. Listen to the interview here. Yes Alex Ferguson was due to arrive!
Next the coffee and jam and cream scones before slowly perusing the exhibits and of course the film show documentary profiling Harold Riley when the artist talks about his background and how the Salford area and the backyard crumbles had influenced his work.
It would be impossible to comment on each of the many exhibits so here are a number with titles and basic information.
The first shows a handshake with the artist in front of his famous 'Chimney Pot Park' showing a raised park in Salford with dye works, rows of chimney stacked houses with a snow covered bowling green topping the raised area.
Secondly the portrait is of Cristiano Renaldo ex Manchester United player and a reminder that Harold had trained and played for Manchester United and in that training he remembers Duncan Edwards bulldozing over him and of course that Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson have been great friends of his.
A huge landscape painting of the Manchester skyline from his home in Salford is next followed by a black and white photo of 'Boys on a Bogie' which we may remember as the makeshift pram wheels and pieces of wood that as boys we knocked together for downhill rides or pull-alongs.
Another photograph depicts stunning sun rays over Manchester yet another clean and clear photograph and again from his Salford home.
Dogs are a familiar topic for are artist and this one shows a black mongrel admiring or maybe growling at one of L.S. Lowry's paintings.
The next photograph on canvas surely shows a 'salt of the earth' character from Salford - this is 'Mrs Bamber' captured in all her wrinkled war paint.
I mentioned Harold Riley's great friend and companion L.S. Lowry and here we have a portrait of Mr Lowry in the most unusual of places - the underground public conveniences which were situated in Albert Square Manchester.
Finally a portrait of Nelson Mandela and signed by the great apartheid activist and one of many Harold's portrait gallery which include R.H Prince Philip, Princess Alexander of Yugoslavia, Duchess of Gloucester, Pope John X111, Pope Paul V1, Pope John Paul 11, American Ambassador Elliot Richardson, John F. Kennedy and many more.