A National Library of Wales exhibition challenges the myth there is no Welsh art.

‘No Welsh Art’ opened on 15 November and runs until 6 September.

It combines curator Peter Lord’s substantial collection with items from the National Art Collection at the National Library of Wales for the first time, to tell the important story of Wales’ visual culture,

In 1950, Dr Llewelyn Wyn Griffith declared, “So much for the past. No patron, no critic, therefore no painter, no sculptor, no Welsh Art. It is as simple as that.”

Since the 1980s, Peter has been exploring the myth that there is ‘no Welsh art’, discovering and recording Welsh art and artists.

His collection of Welsh art and artefacts, many on public display for the first time, looks at the allegation made by Griffith, and upheld by others afterwards.

The exhibition is a unique opportunity to view and enjoy over 250 works of art of national significance. With a central narrative running throughout, the story starts with the visual world of the gentry, middle classes and common people and moves on to various depictions of Welsh identities. Through this, it reveals the richness of Wales’ visual culture as well as Wales’ social and political history.

Rhodri Llwyd Morgan, Chief Executive of the National Library of Wales said: “This exhibition offers a highly enriching experience full of interesting stories and timely themes about our relationship with visual art.

“Peter’s deep knowledge and expertise and the effective pairing between his remarkable collection and the library’s collections promise visitors a real feast.”

Peter said: “Taking the relevance of visual images to the national historical pathway as a starting point, rather than following the aesthetic conventions of mainstream English art history, reveals a huge and undervalued cultural resource for the Welsh nation. The present exhibition not only demonstrates the absurdity of Dr Wyn Llewelyn Griffith’s dismissal of Welsh art, made 75 years ago, but requires us to question the implications of the mindset that lay behind it, into the present day.”