Showing alongside the Maltby collection are original prints by the renowned multi-faceted artist BREON O’CASEY (1928-2011).

He came to live in St Ives at the height of its artistic fervour in the mid-1950s when innovative artists from all over the globe were converging on the Cornish fishing village that had a name for flouting the artistic conventions of the day.  Here Breon thrived, moving between jewellery making (whilst working as a telephonist to feed his family!), sculpture assistant to Barbara Hepworth, tapestry weaving and eventually concentrating more fully on painting, print-making and his own sculpture. 

Breon writes of his approach to printmaking:

‘A print is a print, and I like to keep them simple. Picasso loved experimenting with different combinations of methods for his linocuts, whereas Matisse’s linocuts are white lines on black; his etchings black lines on white – the simplest method.  I side with Matisse. …At least as much effort goes into a print as a painting. The only difference is that they are sold for less money.’

This clarifies the equal validlity of painting and printmaking  - the latter by no means being inferior to the former, as is so often assumed!

Mixing mediums in his work was something that Breon enjoyed: these following images are all linocuts and collage:

In addition to these original prints, we are offering a giclee print of a painting  ‘Tropical Bird’ 42 x 59cm unframed – ed 200 to be sold at £450 with 10% of the proceeds going to St Julia’s Hospice in memory of Oona O’Casey Connell, Breon’s eldest daughter.