The death was announced of a famous Maltese watercolorist, who resided at our Retirement Home in Hilltop Gardens. Edwin Galea came to our home a few months ago with his wife, and has been attending my Masses in my chapel. Unfortunately, I was planning to visit him and get some tips about my own watercolors, but he passed away suddenly. Born in Valletta, Malta in 1934, Edwin Galea is a marine artist working exclusively in watercolors. His love for the sea and naval history has taken him to most maritime museums in Europe and in the United States for research work. His style is represented and readily identifiable by the power of his treatment. Edwin Galea, son of artist Chev. Joseph Galea who was tutored by Chev. Caruana Dingli and who served as an official War Artist during World War II, received his artistic formation from his father. He inherited from his father a natural love of the sea and an uncanny gift to reproduce its moods and the ships that sail on it. His paintings are full of energy in varying moods whether on the high seas or a windswept Maltese landscape. He has exhibited in Malta, London, Italy, Australia, Brussels, Athens, New York and Washington DC.
Edwin Galea is the only Maltese artist listed both as an official US Navy Combat Artist and a US Coastguard Artist. In 1984, the US Navy awarded him its highest civilian honour, the Meritorious Public Service Citation for his paintings in the collection of the US Naval Academy, the US Navy Memorial Museum, the US Navy and Marine Combat Art Museum and the Pentagon in Washington DC. My condolences to his wife and his family.
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