Welsh Artists: John Elwyn

Click on the pics for better view. A painter I undervalued till seeing his work "in the flesh".

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"John Elwyn (1916-97) was born in Newcastle Emlyn in rural south Cardiganshire where his father ran a woollen mill, one of many that once flourished on the banks of the Teifi. He trained at Carmarthen, Bristol and the Royal College of Art and by the 1950s he was exhibiting at the Royal Academy, the New English Art Club and regularly at exhibitions arranged by the Welsh Arts Council and the Royal National Eisteddfod (where he was awarded the Gold Medal for Fine Art in 1956).

Although John Elwyn lived in Hampshire from 1948, teaching at Portsmouth and Winchester Schools of Art until his retirement in 1976, Wales remained his spiritual home and provided inspiration for his paintings. He drew continually upon his wide experience of the working life of the countryside, the bustling farmyards and cattle pastures of the Teifi and Ceri valleys and the upland rural areas.

His paintings present an idealised and peaceful vision of life in the countryside, recording activities at different times of the day and as they vary from season to season. He remains a popular painter and his work is represented in numerous public and private collections all over the world."
(Robert Meyrick)