Family collection of Gwilym Prichard and Claudia Williams paintings goes on sale

A prestigious auction of Welsh art by Gwilym Prichard and Claudia Williams, two of Wales’ most celebrated artists, is set to take place this month.

Taking place at the Cardiff Saleroom of Rogers Jones Auctioneers on 21 February, the sale will include works from the most renowned husband and wife team of the Welsh art story. 

The sale, which includes over 130 paintings from their family collection will be auctioned to be sold without reserve and expectations a total between £130,000 and £180,000.

According to Ben Rogers Jones, auctioneer, it will be an opportunity to see a very personal collection of paintings, akin to a life-long family album documenting two artistic lives: “The pictures by two of Wales’ favourite artists have until now been retained by the family because of their affection for each example.

“Ultimately, there were too many pictures for the family to accommodate practically – they were stored away for years because sometimes it is just so hard to let go. We are truly privileged!”

“Paintings from both artists have graced almost every one of our three times per year Welsh Sale auction in the last twenty years. But to see so many pictures by Gwilym and Claudia in one catalogue and one space is incredibly exciting.”

Important works

Gwilym Prichard ( b.1931) died in 2015 and Claudia Williams (b. 1933) in 2024.

Ben Rogers Jones received instructions to value for probate Claudia’s estate in the summer of 2024 and when visiting her final home in Tenby, discovered over 130 paintings in the attic which were earmarked as family favourites.

The family have kept some but the remainder they have asked to be sold.

Ben shared: “We have arranged the catalogue in a chronological order, starting in north Wales were they met as a young couple and began their artistic journey together.

“Following this is a section on their overseas travels – they lived in Greece and in France where they painted prolifically and established a buying market in Brittany.

“The final part of the catalogue represents their homecoming to Wales when they settled in Tenby.”

“A sight to behold”

They both painted very differently in subject matter and style. Gwilym’s ouevre being landscapes in what can be described now as ‘the late 20^th Century Welsh school’, – impasto oil that simplifies the landscape.

Claudia Williams’ body of work was generally figurative and family focused, often warm in subject matter and colour, typically including a family gathering at the beach or a music lesson in a cosy room.

The collection contains landscapes of where the artists started their lives together, there are landscapes of where they embarked on their artistic adventures further afield, and there are landscapes of where Claudia and Gwilym finally settled back in Wales.

There are family snapshots too, deeply emotional moments captured between mother and child and lighter moments when the larger family gets together to celebrate life, love and those easy relationships you can only enjoy between siblings, parents and grandparents.

Most intimate of all are those moments captured between the two artists, moments that only a long marriage and life-journey together, can possibly explain.

According to auctioneer, Ben Rogers Jones, the collection that is now hanging in the Cardiff auction room is “a Welsh art exhibition like no other and which is unlikely to be repeated.”

“It really is a sight to behold. Like a firework display, the saleroom is alive in technicolour. Whether there is wall space at your home for a purchase or two or not, every follower and enthusiast of Welsh art should take this unique opportunity to come and view the auction.”

The auction will take place in the Cardiff Saleroom of Rogers Jones & Co, at 1.00pm on 21 February 2025.

For more information, visit www.rogersjones.co.uk