The Visual Art Collection

This exhibition is a selection of the works of art acquired by the National Library over the last 4 years. Each year, several hundred art works are added to the collection either by donation, purchase or bequest. The selection focuses on two aspects of collecting from 2004-2007: purchasing and the Sir Kyffin Williams bequest.
The purchasing of works of art involves a variety of approaches and contacts with people. Works by Alistair Crawford, Peter Arnold, Karel Lek and Luke Shepherd were purchased directly from the artists themselves. This ensures that there is a strong link between the individual artist and the Library, which often brings additional benefits to everyone.
Some pictures were seen and acquired at exhibitions; this was the case with Gareth Parry, Keith Bowen, and Dionne Sievewright. Here the work was selected and then purchased through the commercial gallery.
The Michael Rizzello sculptures, which had been executed for the Lloyd George Memorial in Cardiff, were purchased from his daughter, who has worked as his dealer for many years. They represent two parts of the commission, the plaster maquette and a full sized head for the portrait monument.
The exquisite and sensitive portrait of his father by Ceri Richards was purchased from the family, following the death of Ceri’s sister, Esther. The portrait was a gift by the artist to Esther and it hung in the old family home at Dunvant for nearly half a century.
By contrast, the Homage to Dylan Thomas had been in private collections since 1954 and it was bought at auction in Bath. Oloff de Wett’s spirited head of John Cowper Powys was another auction purchase, this time from an Oxford saleroom.
There is one example of a purchase from a private collector. The large watercolour of Branwen by Margaret Jones had been in 3 private collections before being acquired for the Library.
The Bequest by Sir Kyffin Williams to The National Library of Wales is the largest single gift of art works to the Library since the munificent collection amassed by the first President Sir John Williams. The few works by Sir Kyffin on display here only hint at the huge and varied bequest, which the Library received in late 2006. His esteem for the Library as a national institution and his love of Wales are evident in the generosity of his gift to the nation.