Thomas Aquinas Daly

Internationally celebrated watercolorist, Thomas Aquinas Daly's atmospheric landscapes and poetic still-lifes have been compared to the historic work of George Inness (1825-1894) and Jean Bapiste-Simeon Chardin (1699-1779), but neither of these past masters dealt so unwaveringly with the subtleties of the sportsman's world. Daly was born in Albany, New York, and has lived through the state during his lifetime. As a child, he read Field and Stream and Outdoor Life, becoming interested in hunting and fishing. Between 1955 and 1959, he majored in graphic arts at the University of Buffalo and studied a range of art from Japanese prints to abstract expressionism. He then began a twenty-three year career with the Greater Buffalo Press as a lithographer and later as an art director. In 1979, he began a full-time career in painting.

Working from a studio in his barn loft in rural western New York, Daly has evolved a signature style of small watercolors, usually 10 x 14 inches or less, dealing with sporting subjects. He paints in a luminist style characterized by assymetry, optical effects, and formal compositions rather than a photorealistic style. While Daly offers an occasional limited edition etching, he does not publish limited edition prints as many artists do today. Because most of his originals go directly into private collections, viewing his work can be something of a challenge.