Well-known Maltese artist Alfred Chircop has died. He was 82.

Born in Zebbug, Chircop (see in photo, left, with President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca in his latest exhibition) studied at the government School of Arts and won scholarships to the Accademia delle Belle Arti in Rome, where he studied under Franco Gentilini, and to the Bath Academy of Art in the UK.

Chirchop’s technical ability is perhaps the most indisputable features of his art. His etchings were used as images in motion during a ballet sequence on local television where he also features in a short cultural film illustrating the process of making an etching.

His paintings were also used as part of the setting for a programme on Rai TV. Since 1960, he set up one-man shows and took part in other collective exhibitions in Malta and abroad.

He is permanently represented at Il Tabernacolo gallery in Rome and has works in private collections in Malta, Italy, England, Sweden, Ireland, France, Germany, Norway, the USA and South America.

In 2005 Chircop was awarded the Premju Gharfien Kulturali by the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts and in 1998 he was honoured as Member of the Order of Merit.

In a statement, Nationalist Party spokesman for culture Joe Cassar said that Chircop has made Malta proud through his work.

Source: Dictionary of Maltese Biographies, Volume 1, Michael J. Schiavone.