Will Roberts

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

William Roberts
Born21 December 1907
in Ruabon, Denbighshire, Wales
Died11 March 2000
Neath, Wales
Known forPainting, drawing

Will Roberts (21 December 1907 – 11 March 2000) was a Welsh expressionist painter.[1]

Biography

Roberts was born in

Swansea Art School under William Grant Murray. In 1945, he met the Polish artist Josef Herman. At that time, Herman was living in the neighbouring town of Ystradgynlais. They shared an appreciation of Expressionism and often painted together. Later, Roberts was to acknowledge Herman's influence on his work.[2]

Roberts found inspiration in the local community, painting industrial workers and farmers, and domestic scenes of family life. Some of Roberts' most striking works are of Welsh landscapes and he is now widely acknowledged as one of Wales's modern masters. In 1962, Roberts won the

University College, Swansea, and in 1994 a retrospective exhibition of his work was the centrepiece of the arts exhibit at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. In 1998, the National Library of Wales
accepted a donation of 600 drawings from Roberts.

He was one of the original members of the arts group 56 Group Wales, which set out to raise the profile of modern Welsh art.[3]

Roberts died in Neath, where his 24 charcoal drawings of the Stations of the Cross may be seen in St David's Church. Another of his works, The Three Magi, is on the choir vestry wall.[4] A memorial exhibition of drawings and some paintings was shown at the National Library of Wales in 2001.

References

  1. .
  2. ^ Joyner, P: "Will Roberts RCA Drawings", P20, National Library of Wales, 2001.
  3. ^ "History Points – St David's Church, Neath". historypoints.org.

Bibliography

External links