Peter studied ceramics at Camberwell School of Art. Subsequently, he furthered his education at the Royal College of Art, earning his Des. RCA. Following a stint designing at Woods Beryl Ware, he secured an RCA Travelling Scholarship, allowing him to work with potter Carlos Fernandez in Aix‑en‑Provence, France. Fernandez tasked him with studying olive jar production methods at various potteries, including at Potterie Provençale under René Auge Laribe.

Peter then crafted olive jars and feathered slipware cookery dishes for Henry Watson Pottery, Wattisfield, Suffolk. In 1952, he assumed the role of Senior Tutor in Ceramics at the Royal College of Art, and earning an Honorary Fellowship.
Simultaneously, Peter became part of Benton End; the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing. The grand house, on the outskirts of Hadleigh, Suffolk was a haven for influential figures in the arts, attracting students like Joan Warburton, Lucian Freud, and Maggi Hambling. The institution also hosted notable personalities such as Beth Chatto, Paul and John Nash, Elizabeth David, and Benjamin Britten.

In 1969, having left an indelible mark on a generation of ceramic students, Peter resigned from the Royal College. He established his own pottery studio in Stoke‑by‑Nayland, Suffolk, in 1970 and concurrently taught part-time at Colchester Technical College until 1979. The work we have on show is from his time in Stoke‑by‑Nayland.

Peter O’Malley Pottery & Porcelain listed marks are M, V, O, Q, W, Œ, G when at Stoke-by-Nayland. Ref: the Encyclopædia of British Pottery.