overwhelmed him. The strict stylization seen in the latter composition became his hallmark for more than a decade, during which time he nevertheless produced some of his most memorable pictures, including The Road to the West, 1944, and The Old Callan Bridge, 1945. In The Road to the West he is still at the height of his powers, his treatment of the landscape being entirely original, a sense of discovery still evident, the whole in keeping with the mood of the times. The Callan Bridge picture presents him in an unusually light-hearted state of mind, although one still senses that the encroaching dark colours of the hedgerows betray a metaphorical colouring of mood. Certainly by the late 1940s and early 1950s Luke had become obsessed with technique, and in pictures such as The Three Dancers, 1945, Northern Rhythm, 1946, The Dancer and the Bubble, 1947, and The Rehearsal, 1950, all of which are technically of the highest order, one begins to wonder about the paucity of content, for these are exercises in pure technique. the murals which he executed in the early Fifties in the City Hall and Rosemary Street Masonic Hall were to be virtually his last paintings and thereafter, apart from the uncompleted mural in the Millfield Technical College (building demolished 2002, remains of mural retained by demolition contractor) and the coats-of-arms carved for the Governors of Northern Ireland, he did little new work. Luke, as we have seen, was a quiet, somewhat withdrawn figure. His severely Spartan lifestyle seems to have sapped his energy completely by the mid 1950s and possibly, too, he suffered a crisis of confidence as the post-war world took shape and the inexorable advance of Modern painting overwhelmed the traditional values which he espoused. Nowadays, with Modernism itself everywhere in retreat, the values represented by John Luke have again become appealing and reassuring to us. Books John Luke (artist) 1906-1975 (Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, 1978) Northern Rhythm: The Art of John Luke (1906-1975), Joseph McBrinn, National Museums Northern Ireland, 2012. External links Reference in the Ulster Museum Collection Highlights Web Site Painting of Dr Alexander Irvine from the Ulster Museum Collection Highlights Web Site Reference in the Arts Council of Northern Ireland Web Site Reference in the Peatlands Web Site Reference in the Ulster History Circle Web Site Reference in the Birmingham National Ballet Web site