​New exhibition challenges the myth that there’s “No Welsh Art”

Peter Lord, art historian and exhibition curator.

Art historian and exhibition curator, Peter Lord, has been exploring the myth that there is ‘no Welsh art’ since the 1980s, discovering and recording examples and artists.
 
On Saturday, November 16, a new exhibition opens in the Gregynog Gallery at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, combining his substantial collection with items from the library’s National Art Collection for the first time to tell this important story.
 
The exhibition challenges a statement made in 1950 by late Welsh novelist, poet and broadcaster Dr Llewelyn Wyn Griffith who controversially said: “So much for the past. No patron, no critic, therefore no painter, no sculptor, no Welsh Art. It is as simple as that.”

Peter’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 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 more than 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, National Library of Wales chief executive, 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 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 75 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.