Review: No Welsh Art (Dim Celf Gymreig); Exploring the Myth

Julie Brominicks

‘No Welsh Art’ is a somewhat dizzying exhibition featuring 150 pieces owned by art historian Peter Lord and a further 100 by the National Library of Wales.

At its heart is a statement made in 1950 by Llywelyn Wyn Griffiths, then Chair of the Arts Council of Great Britain: ‘So much for the past. No patrons, no critic, therefore no painter, no sculptor, no Welsh art. It’s as simple as that.’ Exasperated by such institutionalized prejudice, Peter Lord has made it his mission to demythologize the prevailing attitudes of Griffith (who was Welsh) and his Anglo-centric peers of the Art Establishment.

This exhibition succeeds in challenging that myth. Viewers are taken on a journey from seventeenth-century gentry-patronized portraits through artisan painters working for the new middle class, to a wide-ranging taster-menu of art depicting Welsh landscape and society, and finally twentieth century and contemporary art.

Griffith was wrong. There were patrons and critics. And there was and is, Welsh art.

‘Ghastly’

That is not to say that all the art on show is of high a quality (although much of it is). Pieces that my museum-curator friend enjoyed for the humanity they reveal, my artist-art-historian friend found ‘ghastly’ in respect to their execution. Peter Lord told me his aim was to showcase the visual environment in which art in Wales evolved. One striking example of influence is the pub sign displayed next to a quote from sculptor John Gibson (1790-1886) who, as a child, admired the signs that swung above taverns. ‘This is the piece I’d save from the flames. It was black when I got it. Rare as hen’s teeth,’ says Lord, who is as keen to challenge the snobbery of Griffith’s statement as he is bigotry.

Why did Griffith say what he did? Why did it matter, and, fifty-five years later, does it still?

It’s unlikely that all Welsh artists would have cared. A radical modern tradition was evolving then and continues to flourish. To many Welsh artists, art is international and cross-cultural by nature. In the words of my artist friend ‘to make art a servant of nationalism is to shrink it.’ To him, Griffith’s claim is not worth being bothered by and to revisit it seems unnecessary. Contemporary regional galleries and national eisteddfodau reveal Welsh visual art in rude health.

Yet to others the criticism still stings. Griffith’s observation isn’t surprising to anyone immersed in issues pertaining to Cymru, Cymraeg and Cymreictod (Wales, Welsh language and Welshness). Since Edward I’s colonisation, Welsh sport, music, art, film, music, writing, energy projects, politics, and language have all been subjected to either ignorant or patronising attitudes by the noisy neighbour across Offa’s Dyke. Griffith’s comment was but one expression of a prevailing attitude.

Racism

In the exhibition’s section ‘Welsh Identities: How They Saw Us’ is a sequence of nineteenth-century London-made prints depicting Welsh people as stupid (on account of not being able to speak English) and poor with leeks in their hats and riding goats. To me these images provide context for Griffith’s remark. Such images remain relevant to contemporary conversations about racism and colonialism.

To Peter Lord, Griffith’s statement contributed to a national lack of confidence that left Wales – in contrast to many other small nations – without its own national gallery.

Thank goodness then, for the National Library. This is a fully accessible venue, situated on Penglais Hill with grand views of Aberystwyth and the sea, good public transport and a carpark. Other exhibitions include the permanent ‘On Air: A Century of Broadcasting in Wales’ and ‘Treasures.’ They provide excellent context to ‘No Welsh Art’ (while also in their own ways unpacking the myth). Importantly, because you need a good deal of time to appreciate ‘No Welsh Art’, there is also a café, shop, and sofas galore.

Navigation of ‘No Welsh Art’ is aided by colour coding. A downloadable audio tour examines eleven pieces in more depth. Booklets in English and Welsh include the introductory texts of each section. The activity guide for children is particularly good, given that without it the show is aimed at adults. Furthermore, there is a monthly guided tour and several planned engagement events.

An appreciation of the exhibits is made richer by the rather wordy text beneath them. The print is rather small and not easily read. While many labels are visible to wheelchair-users, some are so low you have to stoop. Layering (breaking information into chunks) has not been used; but ignore the text at your peril.

I have overheard visitors who don’t read the labels mutter disconsolately about the number of portraits. Those who did were fully engaged.

Passion

There’s a lot to digest. Lord’s passion is evident, particularly for the nineteenth-century artisanal art. A wealth of intrigue and detail is revealed in the text and the subtle ways in which the pieces inter-relate is very satisfying. I found the notion of transient artists hobnobbing with fellow itinerant poets particularly illuminating. The curator’s delight in this nineteenth-century artisan period is so evident the exhibition feels a little weighted in its favour.

By comparison, the twentieth and twenty-first century representation seems more piecemeal, and the accompanying text less vivid. Nevertheless, it emphatically demonstrates that great Welsh art existed even while Griffith uttered his complaint, and contains real treasures such as several early twentieth-century paintings of miners by miner-artists like Archie Rhys Griffiths (1902-1971) and Vincent Evans (1896-1976). Look at these paintings! They summon feelings of empathy, struggle, dignity, wonder and want, grief and injustice, and are atmosphere rich, even though this lofty light-filled gallery couldn’t differ more from the south-Walian coalmines they depict.

This might feel like several exhibitions amalgamated into one. But abundance is not necessarily a bad thing and in this case serves as evidential proof. If you are willing and able to devote time (and don’t forget your glasses) to ‘No Welsh Art’, there is much here to learn and enjoy.

This review was first published in Museums Journal Vol 125 No 3, which is published by the Museums Association.