Will Roberts (1907-2000) was one of the finest Welsh artists of the 20th century. Working exclusively as a painter and draughtsman, his contribution to art in Wales was immense. The subject matter of this sensitive artist centred upon everyday life in his home and town of Neath. He was, and remained a man steeped in his community and in every aspect of the life of the town, but especially in the cultural life and the concern for the conservation of the industrial, architectural and landscape heritage.

His career extended throughout almost the whole of the last century. He painted some of the most profound and beautiful canvases produced in Wales in any period. There is both an international breadth and a native warmth to his work. Above all he studied his subject with tireless determination and devotion. Whilst the majority of his works are landscapes or portraits, they are infused with a deep sense of reverence and awe. The simplest scene captures the joy and tragedy of life. In 2001-2 the National Library of Wales in partnership with Phyllis and Siân Roberts produced a Memorial Exhibition which toured Wales from 9 March 2001 until the final showing at his academy in April and May 2002.

This exhibition celebrated the generous gift to the National Library of Wales, by the artist, of over 600 of his drawings and sketchbooks and it commemorated his importance by also showing a small selection of pictures from his family’s collection. The drawings were chosen by the artist for this exhibition. They are arranged according to subject, beginning with Will’s most important subject and advisor, his wife Phyllis. The studies of their daughter Siân and Phyllis ranged from observed genre drawings to monumental pen and ink wash drawings from the 1950s. Landscapes in and around Neath included several superb compositions of the Gnoll gardens and views of the canal, the tin-plate works at Cilfrew and Cimla Hospital. He recorded the ordinary places in his locality rather than the grander sites of Margam Park, the local churches or the gentry houses of the region.

The Neath Galv ( The Neath Sheet and Galvanising Co. Ltd ) series, which was included in the collection, marks a high point in Will’s ability to elevate and respond to an industry that was part of the life-blood of the town. Rather than emphasise the noise, danger and toil of the working environment, he shows the stature and grace of the teams involved in a dying craft.

Figure drawings selected for this exhibition depicted his love of individuals and the conversational situations which bring society to life.

Always an artist, when on day trips or longer holidays, he drew the countryside and its people with concentration and interest.

The last drawings in the exhibition : studies for the Stations of the Cross (the series now hangs permanently at St David’s Church, Neath) show achievements worthy of an artist whose abilities are particularly clear in his religious subjects. His faith and concern for truth in art combine with a delight in the medium producing powerful and vivid images of the Saviour and His Passion.

Pictures from the family collection were hung in the same order as the drawings. The oil paintings are haunting and delicate motifs, painted with a lightness of touch and accuracy of eye: rare and precious. Their jewel-like quality brings the same sense of pleasure and honour to the viewer experienced when seeing an Old Master.
His Self portrait was exhibited on Will’s own easel, and the final painting in the exhibition Winter was amongst his last essays, and as all late works, it holds the essence of his whole career in one small canvas.
Since the close of the exhibition, all copies of the texts published for the show have been sold.

Will Roberts is now acknowledged as one of Wales’s modern Masters. He was born in Ruabon moving to Neath at a young age where his father had secured a post with the GWR at Neath. His roots were in north Wales but he made his home in south Wales. Will was a man of strong faith and gentle manners. His work is of immense importance to Wales and the welsh people.

Paul Joyner
National Library Wales

Works by Will Roberts can be seen on the National Library of Wales web site and in galleries such as

Albany Gallery 74b Albany Road CARDIFF

Attic Gallery 14 Cambrian Place SWANSEA

ENDS