{"id":613469,"date":"2026-05-31T09:47:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T09:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/613469\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T09:47:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T09:47:12","slug":"is-wales-forgetting-its-pale-male-and-stale-master-painters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/613469\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Wales forgetting its \u2018pale, male and stale\u2019 master painters?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Snow, Nant Peris, Kyffin Williams<\/p>\n

Stephen Price<\/p>\n

One of the most extraordinary things about art is its subjectivity \u2013 the limitless contrast in what might move me over what might move someone else.<\/p>\n

Throughout my lifetime, my tastes have chopped and changed, grown and developed, and I\u2019ve gained newfound appreciation in the abstract, the overlooked, the less obvious at every twist and turn.<\/p>\n

All the while, however, there remains a draw, an unbreakable thread to the masters.<\/p>\n

Head to any museum in the world, Cardiff even, and there\u2019s a magnetic pull to Monet\u2019s waterlillies, a piece by Van Gogh, Freud, Klimt and more.<\/p>\n

And the same goes for our own masters of today and yesterday \u2013 Kyffin, Gwilym Prichard<\/a>, Mary Lloyd Jones, Shani Rhys James and countless others.<\/p>\n

A horrible American phrase made its way across the Atlantic recently \u2013 to \u2018yuck someone\u2019s yum\u2019 \u00a0\u2013 and as mentioned in previous articles of mine, things move me that don\u2019t move others and vice versa but I\u2019m not usually in the habit of saying that something others like is bad. \u2018Different strokes for different folks,\u2019 as Prince said when subtly \u2018dissing\u2019 Lady Gaga.<\/p>\n

I will, however, at least admit to not feeling drawn to visit the Gwen exhibition, Strange Beauties at Amgueddfa Cymru, Caerdydd which has been pushed rather heavily in comparison to other exhibitions of late.<\/p>\n

A recent press release shared: \u201cFollowing its opening in February, Gwen John: Strange Beauties has drawn critical acclaim and exceeded initial visitor targets, with many ticket buyers being first-time visitors to the Museum.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe exhibition has helped spark a wider cultural moment around Gwen John in her 150th year, with a BBC Cymru Wales documentary bringing renewed attention to her life and work and two new books published which focus on her work.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmgueddfa Cymru has also collaborated with world-renowned fashion designer and Gwen John collector Jonathan Anderson to create a series of cornettes inspired by Gwen\u2019s work which are on display alongside the exhibition at National Museum Cardiff, along with a limited edition poster which is available to buy exclusively from the Museum\u2019s shop.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The Pilgrim by Gwen John. Photo credit \u2013 Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection & Seated Tortoiseshell Cat by Gwen John. By Permission of Amgueddfa Cymru \u2013 Museum Wales<\/p>\n

Chief Executive of Amgueddfa Cymru, Jane Richardson said: \u201cGwen John has always been in the shadow of others, but she\u2019s now firmly in the spotlight, yet doing it with the quiet grace and dignity that characterises her works.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe response so far to the exhibition has been truly incredible. It\u2019s really resonated with our audiences, and I\u2019m particularly pleased that so many have been first-time visitors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such an honour to be able to share our collection with so many people and for our visitors to get to know Gwen for the wonderful artist she is.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope this has ignited a spark for more people to be inspired by Wales\u2019 national collection and look forward to continuing to welcome our visitors both in Cardiff and across our museums in Wales.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, I won\u2019t \u2018yuck anyone\u2019s yum\u2019 \u2013 and numbers are good apparently \u2013 but Gwen\u2019s push from the establishment, however, feels a little orchestrated to me. Interesting context, of course, but beyond that, I question the genuine response to the work vs the intellectual one.<\/p>\n

Like point and shoot photography or a simple study, it\u2019s pleasant if a little unexciting.<\/p>\n

Also running at the moment is Portrait & Power at the National Library \u2013 an exhibition which \u201cfocuses on those that have often been left out of history, exploring how identity, the way we look at others, and power all come together in portraiture.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsing both old and new artworks,\u202fthe exhibition invites us to rethink traditional roles, challenge how portraits are usually made, and explore how they reflect \u2014 or change \u2014 the stories we tell about gender, race, class, and belonging.\u201d<\/p>\n

Left out of history? Or an attempt to rewrite history with a 2026 lens that is, indeed, about power, and who holds it at our museums today.<\/p>\n

Equity or engineering?<\/p>\n

Thankfully Wales has moved past \u2018For Welsh Art See Kyffin Williams\u2019, and for a while it has done so intelligently, while holding him on high along with others who portray Wales in a way only we can \u2013 but things are on the move now.<\/p>\n

Agendas have changed.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a reason Kyffin is so beloved inside and outside of Wales \u2013 why he\u2019s still collected, forged, drawing crowds and influencing to this day.<\/p>\n

\"\"Ernest Zobole \u2013 People and Ystrad Rhondda \u00a9 Artist\u2019s estate<\/p>\n

When we talk of the overlooked, there\u2019s no better place to look than the names of other greats of the 20th century \u2013 Zobole<\/a>, Gwilym Prichard, Josef Herman, Peter Prendergast<\/a>, Evelyn Williams (born in London to Welsh parents) and so many more who earned their stripes, but seem to have been put away now they\u2019re not suiting today\u2019s narrative.<\/p>\n

A true test of where the nation\u2019s heart lies can be found at auction \u2013 where the aforementioned are still having their day, even if they\u2019re not creating faux buzz in the press. But spoiler alert, people don\u2019t click modern art news items (or animal, environment or history ones, try as I might) en masse. I wonder why\u2026<\/p>\n

They do, however, click art news when it resonates \u2013 The Valleys Exhibition or a piece on.. sorry to say.. Kyffin Williams and his contemporaries \u2013 Wales\u2019 true greats.<\/p>\n

\"\"Gwilym Prichard\u2019s Above Rhostryfan, oil on canvas, 1982. Photograph: Harry Heuser<\/p>\n

The post-covid landscape of social media in particular has aimed to rewrite art in all its forms, past and present, with a black and white US-led lens, whereby it\u2019s perfectly fine to portray white, older and male \u2013 and heterosexual \u2013 as negative adjectives.<\/p>\n

We, in wales, should never have been shackled by this knee-jerk reaction to poor representation particularly in America and England, especially since we ourselves can too lay claim to being colonised, overlooked, undervalued and underrepresented.<\/p>\n

Edgy!<\/p>\n

Museums will never be free of agenda or the need to spark conversation, and Gwen has done the job very well. But does the buzz lie in the context rather than the draw of the works themselves?<\/p>\n

We all need to see ourselves reflected in museums, in the arts, in literature and more \u2013 but let\u2019s not forget that we aren\u2019t America, we aren\u2019t England, and Welsh people too haven\u2019t been represented well across the world, or even at home. We of all people need to reject another borrowed belief in the inherent bad of the \u2018pale, male and stale\u2019.<\/p>\n

That we do have greats \u2013 both modern and especially of the 20th century \u2013 is testament to the grit, determination and sheer talent of Wales\u2019 painters who don\u2019t quite fit the mould for what\u2019s \u2018in\u2019 in 2026.<\/p>\n

When in Amsterdam, I visited the Van Gogh museum, when in Manchester, I visited the Lowry \u2013 where are Wales\u2019 takes on those and venues such as the Mus\u00e9e Marmottan Monet?<\/p>\n

Their homelands know that there is space for all \u2013 newcomer and pioneer alike \u2013 and the reverence for and reinterpretation of the figureheads, is as essential as making space for new voices.<\/p>\n

\"\"Evelyn Williams (1929\u20132012) Rugby Art Gallery and Museum Art Collections<\/p>\n

Other countries know what to do with their greats \u2013 how to value their greats. Wales\u2019 museums, however, are currently sending a message to the world with much of their approach that we\u2019ve thus far got it terribly wrong, and we\u2019d love you to visit and see some work you will be moved by because it\u2019s very correct and of today.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s disingenuous to rewrite the past \u2013 the way the past of Wales looked \u2013 or indeed the present of Wales looks \u2013 and especially the progression of Welsh art from where we were then to where we are today.<\/p>\n

The artists that mattered then matter now \u2013 more so than ever in fact, and the flag bearers for Wales that have stood the test of time need careful handling, curation and due-prominence in order to keep a level of integrity to Welsh art that can\u2019t be achieved through design or engineering.<\/p>\n

\u2018Subverting\u2019 Welsh cliches and motifs, mining the mabinogi (again) or being \u2018edgy\u2019 by making overdone commentary about race and gender got tired a few years back, but endure it we must. Only, is anyone besides those now in positions of power and influence in Wales\u2019 art institutions really buying it?<\/p>\n

The message is clear \u2013 \u2018This is how Welsh art looks, because we said so, not you\u2019.<\/p>\n

So in answer to my own title as question \u2013 we aren\u2019t forgetting our greats, no, but before long we\u2019ll most certainly be led to.<\/p>\n

Support our Nation today<\/p>\n

For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an
\n independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by
\n the people of Wales.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Snow, Nant Peris, Kyffin Williams Stephen Price One of the most extraordinary things about art is its subjectivity…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":613470,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-613469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=613469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613469\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/613470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}