“I see myself as a figurative painter in the European tradition, attempting to maintain my craft at the highest level, using paint to explore issues of truth, meaning and value. All my paintings are attempted answers to the three questions in the title of Gauguin’s famous painting: ‘Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?’” – Conor Walton

“Walton, who studied in Florence and enjoys an international reputation, is steeped in the classical tradition, has perfected the grand style but he is also a thoroughly modern artist; the work is informed by a contemporary intellectual sensibility.” – Niall MacMonagle (critic, Sunday Independent)

Conor Walton was born in Dublin in 1970. He studied painting at National College of Art, Dublin and graduated with a Joint Honours Degree in the History of Art and Fine Art Painting in 1993, winning the prestigious Taylor Prize that same year.

After furthering his artistic studies with an MA in Art History and Theory in the UK, Walton moved to Florence, Italy, to master the traditional skills of fine art drawing and colour at the Cecil Studios. The teaching method used at the studio derives from the Italian Renaissance where before any individual experimentation is permitted, all students must first learn the fundamental skills of draftsmanship and the sight-size method of figure drawing and painting from the model.

Walton returned to Ireland in 1996 where he has remained, painting full-time, ever since.

Since winning Third Prize for Painting at the Florence Biennale in 1999, Walton has established an international career that sees him exhibiting extensively worldwide, with recent solo shows in Britain, Denmark, Norway and America. His paintings are represented in numerous public and private collections including the National Self-Portrait Collection, University College Dublin and the Irish Armed Forces, among many others.