Creating an Arts Community: 50 Years of the Welsh Group.

by Peter Wakelin

Peter Wakelin has produced in this book of the 50 year history of the Welsh group, a valuable addition to the history of post war Welsh Art. It is not just a catalogue to accompany the exhibition, held in 1999 at the National Museums and Galleries of Wales, Cardiff, but a well researched and beautifully illustrated reference work. It contains a full list of members from 1955 -1999 as well as a list of other exhibitors 1949 -1999. The Welsh group, formed in 1948 - 9, has over the years had 750 members and exhibitors, the list contains most of the leading artists of the period, from Ceri Richards to Ernest Zobole. To quote from Peter Wakelin's words, " Welsh art is still over-shadowed, and deserves to be studied and celebrated far more extensively. "

100 pages paperback.

Kyffin Williams -
The Land & The Sea

You could not accuse Kyffin Williams of being a fair weather painter, for in this book dedicated to his landscape paintings, you can feel the power of the elements, coming through his bold brush strokes. Anyone who thinks, that the colours are unreal, has only to visit the mountains and shores of North Wales, to realise that it is all true, and this is the magic that he performs. I will quote from Kyffin's introduction:
"I have painted the mountains, the ridges, the screes and the green rain soaked breasts of the hills. I have painted the lakes, and the rivers, when they crash from rock to rock in exiting raging waterfalls. I have painted the castles, the farms, the cottages, the corlannau and the beudai, and of course the people. I have painted the Welsh Black cattle that make any field look even more green, and the beautiful Welsh mountain ponies that must be the most graceful animals in Britain. I have been lucky to have been born into such a land and I have been lucky to have been given a life that has been long enough for me to put down my appreciation of it". I think that says it all.
Bernard Mitchell.

"Teifi Pool"


"Snow above Deiniolen."

"Storm, Trearddur"

Kyffin Williams - Portraits

I have to tell you, sadly, that this book is out of print. However, as a photographer of people myself, it is the one of the three books of the work of Sir Kyffin Williams I like best. It contains a broad range of his work, from his local characters to well known personalities, children and some from his travels in Patagonia.

192 pages hardback.

From left to right;- 'Thomas Jones, Fron-Ddu. '
'John Ormond'

From left to right:- 'Mrs Money.'
'Sally.'

Kyffin Williams - 'Drawings'

Over the years, photographing artists many become true friends, and it was Kyffin Williams in 1990 who helped and encouraged me to begin to build the Welsh Arts Archive of photographs of artists.This book of drawings, is the third in a trilogy of books on the work of Wale's most well known and only knighted painter. The first two were, Portraits, and The Land and the Sea. It is a personal thing, but I often prefer the drawing to the finished work and if I can quote from Kyffin's words in the book:
" Paintings are often laboured things, and when worked upon over a period of time they tend to lose the initial excitement of conception. Drawings are usually fresh; they tell us much about the artist who created them. To look at a drawing is to get nearer the artist who made it than is possible when looking at most painting and sculpture.
Drawing is, I believe, a natural activity, a way of recording swiftly something that attracts an artist. Drawing like painting and other art forms, is an act of appreciation and love, and as long as people enjoy the world around them, it will always be an act of devotion".
The book, contains a selection of work, covering, portraits, land and seascapes, farmers, and their dogs,his travels in Patagonia, and many more, it is a must for all who appreciate the work of Sir Kyffin Williams!

£30. 102 pages hardback.

"RS Thomas"1998

"Mot the Sheepdog" 1988

"Sun above Gwynant" 1999

" Storm, Trearddur" 1978

Welsh Painters Talking to Tony Curtis.

Welsh Painters Talking to Tony Curtis.
Cover.

This book of interviews with leading Welsh painters, by Tony Curtis, is now out of print, but has been followed recently by a second volume Welsh Artists Talking. (Reviewed separately) It is only my personal opinion but, I would rather read the words spoken by the artist than those of an academic about the work. There is an intimacy, and uniqueness in these taped interviews, which give us an incite into the life and psyche of the individual. There are twelve artists spanning several generations, two of which - Will Roberts and Ernest Zobole have since passed away. The other artists are - Arthur Giardelli, Charles Burton, Felicity Charlton, Sally Moore, Sir Kyffin Williams, Peter Prendergast, Kevin Sinnott, Shani Rhys James, John Knapp-Fisher and Iwan Bala. Each interview is illustrated with examples of the work of the artist and a documentary photograph by myself. Tony Curtis is Professor of poetry at the University of Glamorgan, and a writer on the arts in Wales.

223 pages. Hardback.

Charles Burton, "Cat on a Chair," 1981.

Felicity Charlton, "The Island Excursion," 1989.

Sally Moore, "House of Cards," 1994.

Arthur Giardelli, "The Sea Has Many Voices," 1990

Welsh Artists Talking to Tony Curtis.

Welsh Artists Talking to Tony Curtis, Cover.

Following on from Welsh Painters Talking, see previous review, Prof Tony Curtis casts his net wider to include artists working in other mediums, sculpture, ceramics and installations of Coal Board Jackets to name but a few. The artists are, Christine Jones, Terry Setch, David Garner, Brendan Stuart Burns, Robert Harding, Ivor Davies, Jonah Jones, David Nash, Lois Williams and Alfred Janes, who has since, sadly, passed away. A more varied bunch it is difficult to imagine, however it all makes for interesting reading and a valuable addition to our knowledge of our native artists. Again the book is illustrated with the work of the artists and a documentary photograph of them by myself.

£19.95. 255 pages. Hardback.
P&P £2.75 Total = £22.70

David Garner, Political Games 1, 1995.




Lois Williams, Red, 1995.

Christine Jones, Vessels.

Wales 'Land of My Father' Photographs
by David Hurn.

It was as a student, in 1966, that I discovered the work of Wales' only resident member of Magnum - David Hurn, and he is without doubt our finest documentary photographer.
It has taken a long time for this retrospective volume of photographs to appear, but now at last we have some of the best images from his lifetimes work in Wales. Published to coincide with the Millennium Exhibition at the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, and after at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, these incisive and thought provoking images, capture a moment in time in the life of Wales for posterity.

£19.95. 119 pages. Hardback.

Cover of "Land of My Fathers"

"Barry Island"