40
18
Michael Augustine Power O’Malley (1870-1946)
Fishing Boats in a Harbour
Oil on canvas, 63.5 x 76.1cm (25 x 30”)
Signed
Provenance: John P. Reihill, Deepwell, Blackrock, Co. Dublin
Until a few decades ago the painter Power O’Malley was better known in America than
in Ireland, with many of his paintings included in prestigious collections there.
Born in Co. Waterford in 1878, Power O’Malley went to study in France and Italy,
though exactly where is not clear. Nor is it known when he emigrated to the United
States. After his arrival, he studied painting under Walter Shirlaw (1838-1909), Robert
Henri (1865-1929) at the National Academy of Design, New York. He settled in Scar-
borough, New York.
Power O’Malley returned several times to painting in the West of Ireland, especially
on Achill. He won first prize for landscape painting at Aonach Tailteann in 1924. He
was invited to participate in the Brussels Exhibition of Irish Art in 1930 and exhibited
a painting entitled
This is my Beloved Son
. An exhibition of his paintings was held at the
Crawford Municipal School of Art, Cork in 1940 and one of the works on show
Himself
and Herself,
was purchased for the School of Art by the Gibson Committee.
In the U.S.A., Power O’Malley established a reputation as a fine painter at the San Anto-
nio Exhibition, Texas in 1927 and he exhibited again there in 1929. He spent some time
in Hollywood working as a scenic artist. He painted a number of murals including one at
the Sleepy Hollow Club, Scarborough, New York. His work was acquired by American
museums and galleries, among them the Philips Collection, Washington; the Library of
Congress, Washington; Fort Worth Museum of Art, Texas; the Whitt Museum of Art,
San Antonio, Texas; and the Museum of Modern Irish Art, Vassar College, New York.
He died on July 3
rd
1946 in New York.
This painting was carried out on one of the artist’s return trips to Ireland’s western sea-
board. The rosy glow of the palette would suggest early morning or perhaps the return
of the boats to the harbour in the evening after the day’s catch has been made. The
perspective and relative disposition of one boat to the next is compositionally satisfying
and contrasts effectively with the “frieze” of boats further out in the harbour with their
bright reflections and glowing colours. Stylistically, Power O’Malley’s work falls between
that of Seán Keating and Patrick Tuohy who also painted views of the West of Ireland
during the same years.
€3,000 - 5,000
