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11.11.2024
“So much for the past. No patron, no critic, therefore no painter, no sculptor, no Welsh Art. It is as simple as that.”
Dr Llewelyn Wyn Griffith, 1950
Since the 1980s the art historian and exhibition curator, Peter Lord, has been exploring the myth that there is ‘no Welsh art’, discovering and recording Welsh art and artists. On Saturday 16 November 2024 a new exhibition will open in the Gregynog Gallery at the National Library of Wales, which combines his substantial collection with items from the National Art Collection at the National Library of Wales for the first time in order to tell this important story.
Peter Lord’s collection of Welsh art and artefacts, many of which are on public display for the first time, looks at the allegation made by Griffith in 1950, and upheld by many others afterwards. His belief is that pictures should be valued not only visually but for what they say about the story of the nation.
The exhibition is a unique opportunity to view and enjoy over 250 works of art of national significance. With a central narrative running throughout, the story starts with the visual world of the gentry, middle classes and common people and moves on to various depictions of Welsh identities. Through this, it reveals the richness of Wales’ visual culture as well as Wales’ social and political history.
Rhodri Llwyd Morgan, Chief Executive of the National Library of Wales said:
“This new exhibition, which has been curated by Peter Lord, offers a highly enriching experience that is full of interesting stories and timely themes about our relationship with visual art. Peter’s deep knowledge and expertise and the effective pairing between his remarkable collection and the Library’s collections promise visitors a real feast."
Peter Lord, Art Historian and exhibition curator said:
“Taking the relevance of visual images to the national historical pathway as a starting point, rather than following the aesthetic conventions of mainstream English art history, reveals a huge and undervalued cultural resource for the Welsh nation. The present exhibition not only demonstrates the absurdity of Dr Wyn Llewelyn Griffith’s dismissal of Welsh art, made seventy-five years ago, but requires us to question the implications of the mindset that lay behind it, into the present day.”
Exhibition highlights include a self-portrait of Edward Owen, Penrhos; a picture of Elizabeth Gwynne, Taliaris by John Lewis; Hen Walia, Marquis of Anglesey by John Roberts; Tŷ Haf by Beca (Peter Davies); Conway Castle from the Shore by Clara Knight and Vase of Flowers by Gwen John.
--ENDS--
** Mae'r datganiad yma hefyd ar gael yn y Gymraeg**
Related images can be downloaded here.
The National Library of Wales Media Contact
Rhodri ap Dyfrig, Head of Marketing and Audiences
rhodri.apdyfrig@llyfrgell.cymru / 07521761762
NOTES FOR EDITORS
About the National Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales is a library for Wales and the world. Located in Aberystwyth, it is the home of the story of Wales.
Opened in 1907, the Library is the centre of research into the culture and heritage of Wales and the Celtic nations.
The purpose of the Library is to make our culture and heritage accessible for everyone to learn, research and enjoy.
We are a legal deposit library, which means we are entitled to a copy of every print publication in Britain and Ireland, but our collections also include the following:
- 7,000,000 feet of film
- 250,000 hours of video
- 6,000,000 books and newspapers
- 40,000 manuscripts
- 1,500,000 maps
- 150,000 hours of sound
- 950,000 photographs
- 60,000 works of art
- 1,900 cubic meters of archives
You can search the collections online. You will find further information along with a list of resources on our website.
About the curator, Peter Lord
PETER LORD took a degree in Fine Art at Reading University in 1970, specialising in sculpture. He worked for some fifteen years as a practising artist, making both small-scale studio sculpture and large public art projects, including the Hywel Dda Memorial at Whitland. In 1986 he turned to writing about Welsh art history. He has published extensively in both English and Welsh languages, broadcast on television and radio, and curated many exhibitions.
Among his publications are a three-volume history of Welsh art, The Visual Culture of Wales, and the single volume survey of the subject, The Tradition. Most recently he has written with Dr Rhian Davies a history of the interaction between visual culture and music in Wales, The Art of Music. His substantial collection of Welsh visual art forms the basis of the current exhibition.