Christopher David Williams (1873 – 1934) was a Welsh artist.
He was born in
MaestegMaesteg is a town and community in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley, close to the border with Neath Port Talbot. In 2001, Maesteg had a population of 17,859, but it is now at an estimate of 20,000....
,
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. His father Evan Williams intended him to be a doctor, but he disliked the idea. A visit to the
Walker Art GalleryThe Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England, outside of London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group, and is promoted as "the National Gallery of the North" because it is not a local or regional gallery but is part...
, Liverpool, in 1892, where he spent some hours in front of Frederick Leighton's "Perseus and Andromeda," revealed a new world to him. He left the Gallery with a firm decision that he would be an artist.
He studied first in Neath under Mr. Kerr and later at the
Royal College of ArtThe Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
and the Royal Academy Schools.
In 1902 his "Paolo and Francesca" was hung in the
Royal AcademyThe Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
and his portrait of his father in 1903. These were the first of 18 paintings exhibited there.
His portrait of Sir Alfred Lyall exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1910 brought him an invitation from the
Royal Society of British ArtistsThe Royal Society of British Artists is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy.-History:...
to join their ranks and he exhibited 37 paintings in their Gallery over the next decade. He also exhibited in the
Royal Society of Portrait PaintersThe Royal Society of Portrait Painters is a British association of portrait painters which holds an annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London...
until 1930.
In 1911, he received a commission from
King George VGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
to work on a commemorative painting of the Investiture of
Edward, Prince of WalesEdward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
at
Caernarfon CastleCaernarfon Castle is a medieval building in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. There was a motte-and-bailey castle in the town of Caernarfon from the late 11th century until 1283 when King Edward I of England began replacing it with the current stone structure...
. As well as attending the ceremony, he visited
Buckingham PalaceBuckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
, where the Royal Family sat for him in order to complete the detail of the picture. He completed two versions of this painting.
Among his portraits were those of
Rt. Hon. David Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
, Sir John Williams,
Sir John RhysSir John Rhys was a Welsh scholar, fellow of the British Academy, celticist and the first Professor of Celtic at Oxford University.-Early years and education:...
,
Sir Henry JonesSir Henry Jones , was a Welsh philosopher and academic.He was born in Llangernyw, Denbighshire, the son of a shoemaker. After working as an apprentice to his father, he studied at Bangor Normal College and became a teacher at Brynamman. Having decided to enter the Presbyterian ministry, he went...
,
Sir John Morris JonesSir John Morris-Jones was a Welsh grammarian, academic and poet.He was born at Llandrygarn, Anglesey and educated at Friars School, Bangor. Whilst at Jesus College, Oxford, Morris-Jones co-founded the Cymdeithas Dafydd ap Gwilym...
,
Dr Stanton CoitStanton George Coit was an American-born leader of the Ethical movement in England. He became a British citizen in 1903....
,
Sir Frederick MillsSir Frederick Mills, 1st Baronet was a British iron and steel manufacturer and Conservative Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1931 to 1945....
,
John Hinds MPJohn Hinds was Lord Lieutenant of Carmarthenshire from 1917 to 1928 and Liberal Party Member of Parliament for West Carmarthenshire from 1910 to 1918 and for Carmarthen from 1918 to 1923.- External links :...
. He painted the first of three portraits of
Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
in the summer of 1911. Lloyd George described him as "one of the most gifted artists Wales has produced".
During the First World War, he painted the
Welsh Charge at Mametz WoodMametz Wood was the objective of the 38th Division during the First Battle of the Somme. The attack occurred in a Northerly direction over a ridge, focussed on the German positions in the wood between 7 July and 12 July 1916. The attack of the 7 July failed to reach the wood before the men were...
, now in the Welsh National Museum.
He painted three scenes from the
MabinogionThe Mabinogion is the title given to a collection of eleven prose stories collated from medieval Welsh manuscripts. The tales draw on pre-Christian Celtic mythology, international folktale motifs, and early medieval historical traditions...
. Ceridwen (1910) and Branwen (1915) are in the collection of the
Glynn Vivian Art GalleryThe Glynn Vivian Art Gallery is the public art gallery of the city of Swansea, Wales. The gallery is situated in Alexandra Road, near Swansea railway station, opposite the old Swansea Central Library and near Swansea Central police station...
,
SwanseaSwansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
. Blodeuwedd (1930) is at the
Newport MuseumNewport Museum is a museum and art gallery in the city of Newport, Wales. It is located in Newport city centre on John Frost Square and is adjoined to the Kingsway Shopping Centre.-The museum collection:...
and Art Gallery.
He painted many landscapes in Wales, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, Morocco and Holland. Amongst his landscapes is "The Red Dress" at the National Museum of Wales and "Holidays - Village Girls at Llangrannog" in the collection of the
National Library of WalesThe National Library of Wales , Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales; one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies.Welsh is its main medium of communication...
.
In the post-war years and until his death he did much to stimulate an interest in art in Wales and was a frequent adjudicator at the National Eisteddfod, a member of the Arts Committee of the National Museum of Wales and of the Council of Honorable Society of Cymmrodorion.
He had a great love for humanity and deep sympathy with the downtrodden and oppressed. Shortly before his death in 1934 he presented to the
Salvation ArmyThe Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
a large picture of the Thames Embankment scene at night which he called "Why?"
In 1973 an exhibition was organised on the centenary of his birth at the National Museum of Wales, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery and Maesteg Town Hall.
He married Emily Appleyard and together they had two sons, Gwyn and Ivor. His second son
Ivor WilliamsIvor Williams was a Welsh artist.He was born in London, the son of the distinguished Welsh painter Christopher Williams and Emily Appleyard ....
was also a Welsh artist. He was the brother-in-law of fellow artist
Fred AppleyardFred Appleyard was a British landscape artist. He had 41 works exhibited during his lifetime by the Royal Academy and painted the mural 'Spring driving out Winter' in the Academy Restaurant....
.
His works are in the collections of the National Museum of Wales,
National Library of WalesThe National Library of Wales , Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales; one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies.Welsh is its main medium of communication...
,
Royal CollectionThe Royal Collection is the art collection of the British Royal Family. It is property of the monarch as sovereign, but is held in trust for her successors and the nation. It contains over 7,000 paintings, 40,000 watercolours and drawings, and about 150,000 old master prints, as well as historical...
,
Glynn Vivian Art GalleryThe Glynn Vivian Art Gallery is the public art gallery of the city of Swansea, Wales. The gallery is situated in Alexandra Road, near Swansea railway station, opposite the old Swansea Central Library and near Swansea Central police station...
,
Newport MuseumNewport Museum is a museum and art gallery in the city of Newport, Wales. It is located in Newport city centre on John Frost Square and is adjoined to the Kingsway Shopping Centre.-The museum collection:...
, Parc Howard Museum and Art Gallery, Carmarthenshire County Museum, Maesteg Town Hall,
Bridgend County Borough CouncilBridgend County Borough Council is the governing body for Bridgend County Borough, one of the Principal Areas of Wales.- Current composition :-Electoral divisions:...
, Caernarfon Council,
Harewood HouseHarewood House is a country house located in Harewood , near Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is a member of Treasure Houses of England, a marketing consortium for nine of the foremost stately homes in England...
, Aberystwyth University,
National Liberal ClubThe National Liberal Club, known to its members as the NLC, is a London gentlemen's club, now also open to women, which was established by William Ewart Gladstone in 1882 for the purpose of providing club facilities for Liberal Party campaigners among the newly-enlarged electorate after the Third...
, Lloyd George Museum, Ffyone Mansion,
Bangor UniversityBangor University is a university based in the city of Bangor in the county of Gwynedd in North Wales-United Kingdom.It was officially known for most of its history as the University College of North Wales...
,
Hunterian Museum and Art GalleryThe University of Glasgow's Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery is the oldest public museum in Scotland. It is located in various buildings on the main campus of the University in the west end of Glasgow.-History:...
,
Froebel CollegeFroebel College is one of the four constituent colleges of Roehampton University. The college was founded in 1892 by followers of Friedrich Fröbel.-External links:* *...
, Templeton House,
Dulwich CollegeDulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
,
Llandovery CollegeLlandovery College is an independent school in Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was founded and endowed by Thomas Phillips in 1847 to provide a classical and liberal education in which the Welsh language; the study of Welsh literature and history were also to be cultivated.Llandovery...
,
Neath Port Talbot CollegeNeath Port Talbot College is a further education institution established as two campuses in Port Talbot and Neath in Wales, United Kingdom....
, Bradford Museums Galleries and Heritage.
A major retrospective exhibition of his work is scheduled for summer 2012 at the National Library of Wales.
Paintings / External links
Compositions
- Branwen The subject is from the Mabinogion. The beautiful Branwen
Branwen, Daughter of Llŷr is a major character in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, which is sometimes called the Mabinogi of Branwen after her. Branwen is a daughter of Llŷr and Penarddun...
was a sister of the King of Britain and married the King of Ireland at a time then these two countries were at war. She died in Anglesey: 'and Branwen looked towards Ireland and towards the Island of the Mighty, to see if she could descry them. "Alas", said she, "woe is me that I was ever born; two islands have been destroyed because of me!" " The painting was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1915. In the collection of the Glynn Vivian Art GalleryThe Glynn Vivian Art Gallery is the public art gallery of the city of Swansea, Wales. The gallery is situated in Alexandra Road, near Swansea railway station, opposite the old Swansea Central Library and near Swansea Central police station...
, Swansea.
- The Welsh at Mametz Wood The Charge of the Welsh Division at Mametz Wood, 11 July 1916, part of the Somme offensive. Painted at the request of the Secretary of State for War, David Lloyd George. Christopher Williams visited the scene in November 1916 and later made studies from a soldier supplied for the purpose. In the collection of the National Museum of Wales, to whom it was presented by Sir Archibald Mitchelson, Bart. 1920.
- Spring Spring was exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 1908.
- Blodeuwedd This subject is from the Mabinogion
The Mabinogion is the title given to a collection of eleven prose stories collated from medieval Welsh manuscripts. The tales draw on pre-Christian Celtic mythology, international folktale motifs, and early medieval historical traditions...
. Gwydion and Math "by charms and illusions" formed a wife for Llew Llaw Gyffes: "so they took the blossoms of the oak, and the blossoms of the broom, and the blossoms of the meadowsweet, and produced from them a maiden, the fairest and most graceful that man ever saw. And they baptized her, and gave her the name BlodeuweddBlodeuwedd or Blodeuedd, , is the wife of Lleu Llaw Gyffes in Welsh mythology, made from the flowers of broom, meadowsweet and the oak by the magicians Math and Gwydion, and is a central figure in the fourth branch of the Mabinogi.-Role in Welsh tradition:The...
". In the collection of the Newport Museum and Art Gallery (gift of the Artists wife, Mrs. Emily Williams, 1937).
- Deffroad Cymru, the Awakening of Wales The painting shows a female nude emerging from the jaws of a sea-dragaon, a kind of Celtic Birth of Venus. Preliminary drawings of this are in the sketchbook that Christopher Williams used at Caernarfon Castle in 1911 when recording the Investiture of the Prince of Wales. This subject was thus a nationalistic allegory that was both contemporary and of special relevance to the artist.
- Ceridwen
In Welsh medieval legend, Ceridwen , also spelled Cerridwen, was an enchantress, mother of Morfran and a beautiful daughter Creirwy. Her husband was Tegid Foel, and they lived near Bala Lake in north Wales...
is a subject from the MabinogionThe Mabinogion is the title given to a collection of eleven prose stories collated from medieval Welsh manuscripts. The tales draw on pre-Christian Celtic mythology, international folktale motifs, and early medieval historical traditions...
. The painting was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1910. In the collection of the Glynn Vivian Art GalleryThe Glynn Vivian Art Gallery is the public art gallery of the city of Swansea, Wales. The gallery is situated in Alexandra Road, near Swansea railway station, opposite the old Swansea Central Library and near Swansea Central police station...
, Swansea.
Portraits
- Hwfa Môn Archdruid Rowland Williams (Hwfa Môn)
Rev. Rowland Williams , commonly known by his bardic name of "Hwfa Môn", was a Welsh clergyman and poet, who served as Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales from 1895 to 1905.- Early Life and education:...
1823-1905. The Archdruid is depicted wearing the Gorsedd robes. The portrait was first exhibited at the Royal Cambrian AcademyThe Royal Cambrian Academy of Art is a centre of excellence for art in Wales. Its main gallery is located in Conwy and it has over a hundred members.thumb|right|240px|Plas Mawr, Conwy-Early history:...
, Conway in 1905. Currently at the National Library of Wales.
- Portrait of David Lloyd George Three-quarter length portrait of Lloyd George as Chancellor of the Exchequer, painted in 1911. Currently at Lloyd George Museum.
- Portrait of Richard Lloyd (uncle of David Lloyd George) Richard Lloyd (1834–1917) was a master shoemaker in Criccieth. He brought up his nephew David Lloyd George whose father died in 1864. Painting currently located at the Lloyd George Museum
- Portrait of Sir John Morris-Jones The portrait of John Morris-Jones
Sir John Morris-Jones was a Welsh grammarian, academic and poet.He was born at Llandrygarn, Anglesey and educated at Friars School, Bangor. Whilst at Jesus College, Oxford, Morris-Jones co-founded the Cymdeithas Dafydd ap Gwilym...
is in the National Museum of Wales.
- Portrait of Sir Henry Jones The portrait of Sir Henry Jones
Sir Henry Jones , was a Welsh philosopher and academic.He was born in Llangernyw, Denbighshire, the son of a shoemaker. After working as an apprentice to his father, he studied at Bangor Normal College and became a teacher at Brynamman. Having decided to enter the Presbyterian ministry, he went...
is in the Hunterian Museum and Art GalleryThe University of Glasgow's Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery is the oldest public museum in Scotland. It is located in various buildings on the main campus of the University in the west end of Glasgow.-History:...
of the University of GlasgowThe University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
.
Landscapes
- The Red Dress The artist's wife at Barmouth Island, 1917. Exhibited in Art in Wales, The Early Years, 1900–1956, National Museum of Wales, 1969. In the Collection of the National Museum of Wales (purchased at the Christopher Williams Memorial Exhibition, Palser Gallery, London, 1935), and currently in the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales in Whitehall.
- The Casbah, Tangiers This picture is one of numerous landscapes painted during a three month visit to Spain and Morocco in Spring 1914.
- Holidays - Village Girls at Llangrannog Painting in collection of National Library of Wales.