Biography

1941 Born Armagh

Education

1945-52 Blundell’s Grange Primary School
1952-58 St. Patrick’s College, Armagh
1958-59 Christian Brothers’ Grammar School, Armagh
1959-61 Belfast College of Art
1961-65 Edinburgh College of Art

Awards

1960 Belfast College of Art. Staff Association Prize
1961 Taylor Scholarship for Watercolours
1961 Royal Dublin Society Awards for Lithography, Landscape & Watercolours
1962 Andrew Grant Bequest. Prizes for Head Drawing & Life Painting
1963 Edinburgh College of Art. Awarded Diploma
1963 Andrew Grant Bequest. Post-graduate Scholarship
1964 Edinburgh College of Art. Awarded Post-Graduate Diploma
1964 Andrew Grant Bequest. Minor Travelling Scholarship (Italy)
1964 Clason-Harvie Bequest. Travelling Scholarship (Paris & Florence)
1964-65 Andrew Grant Bequest. Major Travelling Scholarship (One Year in Spain & Morocco)
1965 Edinburgh College of Art. Awarded Travelling Scholarship
1966 Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Short Visit Award (Paris)
1968-69 Arts Council of Northern Ireland Subsistence Award (Spain, Morocco and Algeria)
1995 British Council Travel Award to Italy
1995 Arts Council of Northern Ireland Bursary for exhibition in Italy
1995 Armagh City and District Council Italian Exhibition Grant

Commissions

1964 Mural for Baptistery of Loughmacrory old Chapel, Co. Tyrone (now demolished)
1970 ACNI poster design
1970 ACNI Ulster Faces (portrait of JG Devlin)
1978 ACNI silk-screen Print Commission
1982 BBC Images of Ireland
2007 BBC: Series of paintings commemorating the 400th anniversary of the Flight of the Earls, for Imeacht na nIarlí, a television trilogy produced by Antaine Ó Donnaile

Publications and articles

Art in Ulster 2, Mike Cato; Blackstaff Press, 1977
John B Vallely at 50, Adrian Rice; catalogue for exhibition at Belfast Castle, 1991
L’Arte di JB Vallely, Patricia Mallon; Comune de Malcesine, 1995
Blooming Meadows: The World of Irish Traditional Musicians, Charlie Piggott & Fintan Vallely, photography by Nutan; Town House Press, Dublin, 1998
Armagh Voices – A Celebration of a Century, Pamela Rea; Armagh, 1999, chapter “The Vallely Family”
A Work of Art, ed. Fintan Vallely, hardback publication for 40-year JB Vallely retrospective, Armagh; Emer Gallery, Belfast, 1999
The Companion to Irish Traditional Music, ed. Fintan Vallely; Cork University Press, 1999
One Hundred Years of Irish Art: A Millennium Presentation, ed. Eamonn Mallie; Nicholson & Bass, Belfast, 2000
The Rough Guide to Irish Music, Geoff Wallis & Sue Wilson; Rough Guides Ltd, London, 2001
Saint Patrick’s City: The Story of Armagh, Alf McCreary; The Blackstaff Press, Newtownards, 2001
Irish Arts Review, interview by Brian McAvera; vol. 20 no. 3, 2003
The Irish Times, feature by Siobhán Long
Irish Runner, feature by Brendan Hackett
The Encyclopedia of Ireland, ed. Brian Lalor; Gill & Macmillan, Dublin, 2003
The Flight of the Earls / Turas na dTaoiseach, catalogue for exhibition at the Grand Opera House; Emer Gallery, Belfast, 2007
Retrospective: A visual celebration of the life and works of Armagh painter JB Vallely, Fintan Vallely; Creative NRG, Belfast, 2008
Dictionary of Living Irish Artists, Robert O’Byrne; Plurabelle Publishing, Dublin, 2010
Island of Shadow: Irish Poets across the Centuries with paintings by celebrated Irish Artists, Brian Lawlor; Gill & Macmillan, 2011
‘The pipes are calling the tune in trad’, feature by Siobhán Long, The Irish Times, 2.2.2012
JBV@80, retrospective book published by Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council, 2021

Media and Television

1967 RTE Documentary on Visual Art
1972 ‘In Two Minds’ BBC TV Film
1980’s ‘The Chieftains’ Series RTE
1999 ‘Images of Ireland’ and ‘Léargas RTE Feature on J B Vallely Paintings
2008 ‘Sé Mo Laoch’ TG4 Series featuring the artist's painting and sporting achievements in the context of the music of the Armagh Pipers Club

Events

2001 – ‘Poet, Piper & Painter performance with Seamus Heaney and Liam O'Flynn in the Waterfront Theatre, Belfast
2014 – ‘Poet, Piper & Painter performance in The Navan Centre – Armagh
2014 – ‘Poet, Piper & Painter’ performance in the Market Place Theatre & Arts Centre
2014 Appointed Artist in Residence at Armagh City & District Council, subsequently Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council
2021 Painting entitled Five Musicians sold at Sotheby’s for a record auction price for a JB Vallely