Businessman offered to buy Welsh artist’s £25k Farage portrait just so that he could ‘burn it’

An EU businessman offered to buy a Welsh artist’s portrait of Nigel Farage just so that he could “burn it publicly”.

Artist David Griffiths had failed to find a buyer for his £25,000 oil painting of the former Brexit leader at the Royal Academy’s summer exhibition in 2018.

But writing in his new autobiography, one of Wales’ most well-known portrait painters reveals that he did receive one offer for the painting after all.

“Without a doubt, the most bizzare reaction I had to the painting was a businessman from the Netherlands who wanted to purchase the painting for the sole intention of burning it publicly, as a publicity stunt!” he said.

‘Terrorist target’

Hunanbortread, a play on words that means self-portrait is the autobiography of David Griffiths, a Liverpool-born artist that moved to Pwllheli to escape Hitler’s bombs.

Griffiths studied at the Slade School of Fine Art, London, and his impressive portfolio includes portraits of royalty, high-ranking politicans, and well-known musicians and actors.

One of the autobiography’s headings, ‘From Cynan to Calzaghe’ hints at the wide range of Welsh public life included between the book’s covers.

Amongst other politicians David Griffiths discusses in the book is George Thomas, ex-FM Rhodri Morgan, Senedd Llywydd Elin Jones and the contentious figure Enoch Powell, who was suspicious upon Griffith’s visit to his house as he had recently been informed he was “a potential terrorist target”.

It is believed that his portrait of Prince Charles on the occasion of his investiture as Prince of Wales in 1969 which first brought him to notoriety.

Hunanbortread has been edited by Arfon Haines Davies, a Welsh television presenter who began his career with HTV Wales during the 1970s.

Arfon Haines Davies joins the book’s publishers Gwasg Carreg Gwalch in conversation about the autobiography this Sunday. The event can be followed by clicking this link.