Tony O'Malley 1913-2003

Tony O’Malley was an Irish painter and printmaker whose career was closely tied to the St Ives art community from the 1960s onward. Although largely self-taught, he became part of the circle surrounding Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth and Patrick Heron, absorbing their modernist language while developing his own distinctive approach. His prints, particularly those produced from the 1970s onwards, reveal the same lyrical abstraction found in his paintings—organic shapes, rich textures and rhythmic colour fields that evoke the natural world.

O’Malley’s links to celebrated figures of the St Ives School gave him both context and credibility, yet his work retained a personal, contemplative character rooted in his Irish background. His prints, often produced in small editions, are valued for their expressive immediacy and sense of place. Today, they stand as a quieter counterpart to his paintings, offering collectors an accessible way into the legacy of one of Ireland’s modern artists.