Born in Kilbrittan, Co. Cork, in 1921, Patrick Scott studied architecture at UCD. After graduation in 1945 he worked with the architect Michael Scott for the following fifteen years. He devoted himself fully to painting since 1960, the year he won the Guggenheim Award and represented Ireland in the xxx Venice Biennale.

He had many tapestry commissions for, among others, the Bank of Ireland; the European Parliament, Strasbourg and St. Paul’s School, London. His works have been exhibited worldwide and important shows include a major retrospective in the Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin, in 1981, an important survey of his work exhibited by Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane in 2002, and a retrospective of his life's work in IMMA in 2014.

His paintings are in several important collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York; Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane; Gulf Oil Corporation, Pittsburg; Ulster Museum, Belfast and the Irish Museum of Modern Art. In July, 2007, Scott, who was a founding member of Aosdána, was conferred with the title of Saoi, the highest honour that can be bestowed upon an Irish artist.