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Maltese painter (1918 - 1970), active in Italy. He
studied painting in Rome at the Regia Academia di
Belle Arti, where his master was the Neapolitan
artist Carlo Siviero.
At the outbreak of World War II, he surrendered his
British passport in return for a residence and work
permit in Italy. Arrested after the capitulation of
Italy in 1945, he was brought to Malta and tried for
high treason, together with c. 25 other Maltese, but
was acquitted.
His release was followed by a period of intense
activity during which he established himself as
Malta's leading portrait artist. In 1955 he
transferred himself permanently to Rome, where in
June 1964 he organized a one-man exhibition at the
Galleria L'Agostiniana in Piazza del Popolo,
which won him very favourable comments.
In 1961 he was invited to Windsor Castle to paint a
portrait of Princess Anne (exh. 1962; London,
Grabowski Gal.). In 1967 he had another successful
show, at the Galleria Galeazzo in Alba. His
work had by this time become profoundly religious in
content, and the bright colours of his earlier
paintings gave way to gloomy mauves and grey tones.
His brother, Vincent Apap (b 1909), became Malta's
leading sculptor. Among his works are several public
monuments, which include the Tritons' Fountain at
Valletta and the Dante Memorial at Floriana.
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