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49
paintings from the esb collection
16
th
december 2014
51
Tony O’Malley HRHA (1913-2003)
Wexford Landscapes
A pair framed as one, mixed media on paper, each 12.5 x 16.5cm (5 x 6.5”)
€800 - 1,200
Kilkenny born painter Tony O’Malley began painting full time in 1958 having worked as a bank
clerk previously while painting in his spare time. He is best known for his paintings done in
Cornwall, where he lived for thirty years after visiting St Ives in 1955 and returning to settle there
in 1960. While he was strongly influenced by the St Ives artistic community, his relationship was
one of engagement rather than direct participation, although he did meet and work with Peter
Lanyon and Patrick Heron. He spent winters in the Bahamas, which had a further strong influ-
ence on his art, which became more vibrant and colourful.
His work has been exhibited at the RHA, Taylor Galleries, Coram Gallery in London and he
represented Ireland at ROSC ‘80. An honorary member of the RHA (elected 1990), he was elect-
ed Saoi of Aosdana in 1993 and the following year received an Honorary Doctorate from Trinity
College Dublin.The Irish Museum of Modern Art held a major retrospective of his work in 2005.