George Fenech Art Museum and Gallery
Artist Museum and Gallery · 42 Triq il-Kbira, Mellieħa MLH 2311, Malta
Enquire through VisitMalta.co.ukServices, hours and details last checked against George Fenech Art Museum and Gallery's own published information.
The George Fenech Art Museum and Gallery is a family-run museum at 42 Triq il-Kbira in the heart of Mellieħa, in the north of Malta. It shows more than 130 paintings and archive items by the Maltese artist George Fenech in the house where he lived and worked. For group bookings and other questions, use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page.
Mellieħa is best known to most British visitors for its long sandy bay and the ferry to Gozo, yet the village also holds one of the most personal small museums on the island. The George Fenech Art Museum and Gallery occupies the house where the painter lived with his family for more than thirty years, and the family still runs it today, opening the doors to anyone curious about Maltese art in the twentieth century.
On VisitMalta.co.uk the museum is listed with the art galleries in Malta and among the museums in Malta, which makes it an easy addition to a day built around the north of the island.
The artist behind the museum
George Fenech was born in Mellieħa on 3 January 1926. He trained at the Malta Government School of Art under Vincent Apap and Emvin Cremona, and in 1956 he won the School of Art scholarship for painting. That took him to the Regia Academia di Belle Arti in Rome, where he studied painting, etching and the history of art, and a further year at the Scuola Arti Ornamentali San Giacomo added decorative art and fresco technique.
His work covers portraits, genre scenes, religious subjects, still lifes and landscapes, and it falls into three broad periods: his early years at the School of Art from 1946 to 1956, the Roman period from 1957 to 1960 and the long post-Roman period from 1961 to 2011. Landscape is what he is remembered for most, and many of his paintings were inspired by the valleys and farmhouses around Mellieħa village. He exhibited in Malta, London, Edinburgh, Germany and the USA, and his paintings now sit in private collections in Malta, Italy, Germany, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and the USA.
Fenech also taught for many years and helped to shape a number of other Maltese artists. In 2010 the President of Malta awarded him the Midalja għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika, the Medal for Service to the Republic, in recognition of his painting and his teaching. He died on 21 August 2011, aged 85.
What you will see inside
The museum holds more than 130 works of art and archive items. Three rooms on the upper floor are given over to the artist's studio and a sequence of paintings that follows six decades of his development, from his formative years in Malta and Rome through to his mature work. In the studio room you can see the tools of his trade, from easel to palette, laid out much as a working painter would leave them.
Because the collection sits in a family home rather than a purpose-built gallery, the scale is intimate. Plan on an unhurried visit rather than a long day, and pair it with a wander through the village, which makes a good start to a trip around the north that might also take in Mellieħa and its beaches or the film-set charm of Popeye Village.
Exhibitions and publications
Alongside the permanent display, the gallery space stages temporary exhibitions, often showing work by other Mellieħa and Maltese painters. Recent programmes have included an exhibition of paintings by Joe Vassallo, a show by the local artist Gilbert Fenech and a 100th anniversary exhibition marking the birth of George Fenech, which was extended by popular demand. The museum also keeps a publications section and a news page for details of what is on.
The museum does not buy, sell or deal in art, so it is a place to look and learn rather than to shop. If you are planning a wider cultural trip, our overview of things to do in Malta will help you place it alongside the bigger sights.
Visiting from the UK
Opening times are specific. The museum welcomes the public on Monday and Saturday mornings, Wednesday morning and Friday late afternoon, and groups of students or adults can book other weekdays through the contact route. There is no lift, because the house is almost a century old, so anyone with limited mobility should bear that in mind before planning a visit.
Mellieħa is also the departure point for many boat trips, so a morning at the museum fits neatly with an afternoon at Golden Bay or a day out to the Blue Lagoon on Comino. Check the weather by month before you travel, and see our Malta holidays overview if you are still choosing where to base yourself.
To ask about opening dates, group visits or anything else, use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page and we will pass your message to the museum.
Questions about George Fenech Art Museum and Gallery
Where is the George Fenech Art Museum and Gallery?
It is at 42 Triq il-Kbira in the centre of Mellieħa, in the north of Malta. The museum is housed in the home where the artist and his family lived for over thirty years, so you are visiting a real family house rather than a purpose-built gallery.
When is the museum open to the public?
Public hours are Monday 10.00 to 13.00, Wednesday 10.00 to 13.00, Friday 16.00 to 19.00 and Saturday 10.00 to 13.00. Last admission is 30 minutes before closing, and hours can change without notice, so it is wise to check first.
Can I book a group visit?
Yes. Groups of students or adults can visit on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday by arrangement. Send your request through the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page and we will pass it to the museum for a reply.
Is the museum accessible for wheelchair users?
The house is almost a hundred years old and has no lift, and the main displays are on the upper floor. Visitors with limited mobility should raise this through the enquiry form before planning a visit.
Who was George Fenech?
He was a Maltese painter born in Mellieħa in 1926 who trained in Malta and Rome and became best known for landscapes of the valleys and farmhouses around the village. He also taught for many years and died in 2011.
Can I buy paintings at the museum?
No. The museum does not buy, sell or deal in art. It exists to show and preserve the artist's work and to host exhibitions, so treat it as a place to view and learn rather than to shop.
Practical information
The museum is at 42 Triq il-Kbira, Mellieħa, MLH 2311. Public opening hours are Monday 10.00 to 13.00, Wednesday 10.00 to 13.00, Friday 16.00 to 19.00 and Saturday 10.00 to 13.00, with last admission 30 minutes before closing. Groups of students or adults can visit on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday by arrangement, and the museum is closed on Sundays and public holidays. Hours and entrance conditions can change without notice, so send your question through the enquiry form on this page and VisitMalta.co.uk will pass it to the museum.
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The details on this page were correct on 25 October 2026, as published on the George Fenech Art Museum and Gallery website. Services, prices and hours can change, so please confirm when you enquire.