Sculptor

Anton was born in Rabat, the son of Giuseppe Agius and Stella née Galea. Anton Agius commenced his art apprenticeship under Joseph Galea.  Between 1950 and 1953 he studied art at the Malta Society of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, in Valletta and continued his studies at the School of Arts under George Borg*. In 1957 he won a Malta Government scholarship at the Scuola del Nudo dell’Associazione Artistica Internazionale at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome and to St Martin’s School of Art in London, where he was awarded the national diploma in design, modelling, sculpture, and letter cutting. Indeed, Agius belonged to a generation of artists such as Harry Alden*, Alfred Chircop, and others who studied in the UK and whose art was conspicuous for its rich cosmopolitan character often commingled with indigenous traits.

Agius served as art teacher in secondary schools, lecturer at the UM, examiner for Oxford ‘O’ Level ceramics, and member of the Malta Aesthetics Board. He won the first prize in the Human Rights Art Exhibition (1968), the first prize for the Trophy for Best-Kept Village (1971), the Onorificenza Del Dio Pan in Florence (1979), the Artist of the Year Award (1980), the Targa D’Onore (1982), and the second prize of the First International Art Biennial in Malta (1995).

Anton Agius’s works are to be found in private collections in many parts of the world. Willy Brandt and Colonel Gaddafi possessed some of Agius’s works of art. Among the artist’s major works are the Workers Monument at Msida, the 31 March 1979 Monument at Vittoriosa, the monument of Dun Mikiel Xerri u  Sħabu  in Valletta, the monument of Mgr. G. DePiro at Rabat, the statue of Manwel Dimech at Valletta, the statue of Ġużè Ellul Mercer at Dingli, the monument commemorating the victims of the Sette Giugno riots in Valletta, the bust of Anton Buttigieg at Qala, Gozo,  and the sepulchral work Kurċifiss tal-Lum for the Dominican Order.

Agius’s exhibitions included a 1963 exhibition at the National Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts (1974 and 1979), the Maltese Sculptures and Ceramics Exhibition at the Galleria Fenici (1981), the Art ’84 - Malta exhibition (1984), and the Public Service Week Art Exhibition (1996).

In 2005 Agius was made member of the National Order of Merit (M.O.M.), and in February 2007, he was awarded the Gold Award Medal of the Malta Society of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce.

In 2009, Anton Agius was paid special tribute by the Rabat Local Council which commemorated him as one of the locality’s most revered sons by establishing a foundation in his name with the task of restoring his hometown’s historic monuments.

Anton Agius married Marie Louise née Sultana in 1964 and they had three children: Cristopher, Joseph, and Antoine.

A bust and a monument are dedicated to the Rabat born Anton Agius. A bust, the work of Monica Spiteri was inaugurated at Ir-Razzett tal-Markiż, Mosta on 18 April 2008, and a monument near Domus Romana in Rabat by sculptor Joseph Scerri was unveiled by President George Abela on 7 May 2011.

This biography is part of the collection created by Michael Schiavone over a 30-year period. Read more about Schiavone and his initiative here.