Christopher Williams (Welsh artist)
Christopher Williams | |
---|---|
Born | Christopher Williams 7 January 1873 |
Died | 19 July 1934 | (aged 61)
Nationality | Welsh |
Known for | Painter |
Christopher David Williams RBA (7 January 1873 – 1934) was a Welsh artist.
Biography
Williams was born in
In 1911, Williams received a commission from
Among his portraits were those of
During the First World War, he painted The Welsh at Mametz Wood, now in Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales.
Williams painted three scenes from the
In the post-war years and until his death, Williams did much to stimulate an interest in art in Wales and was a frequent adjudicator at the
He had a great love for humanity and deep sympathy with the downtrodden and oppressed. Shortly before his death in 1934, he presented to the
Williams married Emily Appleyard and together they had two sons, Gwyn and Ivor. Evan Gwyn Williams was an astronomer and his other son was the artist Ivor Williams. He was the brother-in-law of fellow artist Fred Appleyard.
Works by Williams are in the collections of the
In 1973, an exhibition was organised on the centenary of William's birth at the National Museum of Wales, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery and Maesteg Town Hall. A major retrospective exhibition of his work took place from July to September 2012 at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. A version of this exhibition toured to the Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery, Bangor in October and November 2012.[3][4]
Notable works
Compositions
- Branwen The subject is from the Mabinogion. The beautiful Branwen was a sister of the King of Britain and married the King of Ireland at a time then these two countries were at war. She died in Anglesey: 'and Branwen looked towards Ireland and towards the Island of the Mighty, to see if she could descry them. "Alas", said she, "woe is me that I was ever born; two islands have been destroyed because of me!" The painting was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1915. In the collection of the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea.
- The Welsh at Mametz Wood The Charge of the Welsh Division at Mametz Wood, 11 July 1916, part of the Somme offensive. Painted at the request of the Secretary of State for War, David Lloyd George. Williams visited the scene in November 1916 and later made studies from a soldier supplied for the purpose. The painting is in the collection of the National Museum of Wales, to whom it was presented by Sir Archibald Mitchelson in 1920.
- Spring Spring was exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 1908.
- Blodeuwedd This subject is from the Mabinogion. Gwydion and Math "by charms and illusions" formed a wife for Llew Llaw Gyffes: "so they took the blossoms of the oak, and the blossoms of the broom, and the blossoms of the meadowsweet, and produced from them a maiden, the fairest and most graceful that man ever saw. And they baptized her, and gave her the name Blodeuwedd". In the collection of the Newport Museum and Art Gallery (gift of the Artists wife, Mrs. Emily Williams, 1937).
- Deffroad Cymru, the Awakening of Wales The painting shows a female nude emerging from the jaws of a sea-dragaon, a kind of Celtic Birth of Venus. Preliminary drawings of this are in the sketchbook that Christopher Williams used at Caernarfon Castle in 1911 when recording the Investiture of the Prince of Wales. This subject was thus a nationalistic allegory that was both contemporary and of special relevance to the artist.
- Ceridwen is a subject from the Mabinogion. The painting was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1910 and is now in the collection of the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea.
Portraits
- Hwfa Môn Archdruid Rowland Williams (Hwfa Môn) 1823–1905. The Archdruid is depicted wearing the Gorsedd robes. The portrait was first exhibited at the Royal Cambrian Academy, Conway in 1905. Currently at the National Library of Wales.
- Portrait of David Lloyd George Three-quarter length portrait of Lloyd George as Chancellor of the Exchequer, painted in 1911. Currently at Lloyd George Museum.
- Portrait of Richard Lloyd (uncle of David Lloyd George) Richard Lloyd (1834–1917) was a master shoemaker in Criccieth. He brought up his nephew David Lloyd George whose father died in 1864. Painting currently located at the Lloyd George Museum
- Portrait of Sir John Morris-Jones The portrait of John Morris-Jones is in the National Museum of Wales.
- Portrait of Sir Henry Jones The portrait of Sir Henry Jones is in the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery of the University of Glasgow.
Landscapes
- The Red Dress The artist's wife at Barmouth Island, 1917. Exhibited in Art in Wales, The Early Years, 1900–1956, National Museum of Wales, 1969. In the Collection of the National Museum of Wales (purchased at the Christopher Williams Memorial Exhibition, Palser Gallery, London, 1935), and currently in the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales in Whitehall.
- The Casbah, Tangiers This picture is one of numerous landscapes painted during a three-month visit to Spain and Morocco in Spring 1914.
- Holidays – Village Girls at Llangrannog Painting in collection of National Library of Wales.
- Barmouth Evening Painting in collection of National Library of Wales.
- Sunset at Barmouth Painting in collection of National Library of Wales.
References
- ISBN 1-85149-106-6.
- ^ Phil Carradice (4 March 2011). "Christopher Williams: local boy makes good". BBC Wales History. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ Laura Chamberlain (26 June 2012). "National Library prepares for Christopher Williams retrospective". BBC Wales arts. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ Sion Jobbins (2 July 2012). "Christopher Williams Awakes!". The National Library of Wales. Archived from the original on 17 March 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
Further reading
- Williams, Jeremiah, ed. (1955). Christopher Williams RBA : an account of his life and appreciations of his work. Caernarfon: Delyn Press. ISBN.
- Fraser Jenkins, A. D. (1973). Christopher Williams Centenary 1873–1973 [catalogue of Exhibitions At] National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, 31 March – 22 April, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea, 5 May – 2 June, Town Hall, Maesteg, 18 June – 7 July. Cardiff: National Museum of Wales. ISBN 0-7200-0036-X.
- A Souvenir of The Christopher Williams Exhibition at Maesteg Town Hall, May–June 1949.
- An Exhibition of Paintings by Christopher Williams R.B.A and Ivor Williams, 16–28 July 1981, Maesteg Town Hall (introduction by P.H.Phelps).
- Meyrick, Robert (2012). Christopher Williams '...an artist and nothing else'. Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth University. ISBN 978-1-899095-31-5.