John elwyn - WElsh Artist
1916-1997
WANTED ……. we are currently looking to acquire work by this artist so do contact us if you have one to sell.
John Elwyn is now rightly considered as a most distinguished Welsh painter and ranked along side the likes of Kyffin Williams. The work of John Elwyn celebrates the gentler hills of rural west Wales and he has, in recent times, become extremely popular with collectors. His amazingly adventurous use of colour allows his work to be instantly recognisable.He was born in Newcastle Emlyn in rural south Cardiganshire where his father ran a woollen mill. He attended the Royal College of Art in 1938-39 and 1946-47 and began exhibiting from 1948 regularly at the Royal Academy.
He consistently drew upon his experience of rural life in his native Wales and was inspired by the landscape, its people, their language and social traditions. His paintings are evocative interpretations of the landscape and the people . John Elwyn lived in Compton Road , Winchester, Hampshire teaching at Portsmouth and Winchester Schools of Art until his retirement in 1976, so time and time again was forced to draw upon his memories of his spiritual home of Wales rather than paint plein air. Indeed he often began to paint those glorious golden fields and just let his brush and the paint take him to the finished subject
Sir Kiffin Williams said of John Elwyn ' What he achieved was work of such merit that it will take its place permanently in the artistic history of Wales.......the work of John Elwyn will always stand out and be admired, for John loved the land he painted and the people who lived in it and had a talent to communicate that love to others.
Wonderful words from one of the greatest Welsh Artists of all times. His work is held in many public collections.