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There’s “No Welsh Art” – a new Exhibition challenges the myth

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, combining his substantial collection with items from the National Art Collection at the National Library of Wales for the first time 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, examines Griffith’s allegation in 1950, which was upheld by many others afterwards. He believes that pictures should be valued not only visually but also 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. This reveals the richness of Wales’ visual culture as well as Its social and political history.

Rhodri Llwyd Morgan, Chief Executive of the National Library of Wales, said: “This new exhibition, which Peter Lord has curated, 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: Welsh art is an undervalued cultural resource

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.

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