Unveiling Portrait of Lord Wigley

A portrait of the former President of the National Library of Wales, Lord Dafydd Wigley, will be unveiled on Friday 2 December 2011 in Aberystwyth. 

Lord Wigley, who represented Caernarfon for nearly 30 years at Westminster and later at the newly formed National Assembly of Wales officially retired from his post as President of the Library after four years in the post.

His portrait has been painted by renowned Welsh portrait artist David Griffiths, who has depicted many of the UK's public figures during his 40-year career, including the previous three Presidents of the Aberystwyth-based Library. 

He will reveal the portrait at a farewell event when he will also hand over the Royal Charter of the library to his successor.

The painting, which is painted in oils on a 40 x 30 inch-canvas, shows Lord Wigley in relaxed pose holding the third volume of his autobiography, Maen i’r Wal. The sittings took place over a six-month period this year.

The portrait will join other Griffiths portraits of eminent Welsh musicians Osian Ellis and Bryn Terfel and the late Sir Geraint Evans in the National Library collection.

David, who was brought up in Pwllheli and trained at the Slade School of Fine Art in London, became famous for his painting of the Prince of Wales receiving the freedom of the city of Cardiff in the year of the Investiture, 1969. He has since depicted many famous politicians, clerics and sportsmen including Enoch Powell, Archbishop of Wales Barry Morgan and Barry John. Earlier this year, his two portraits of former First Minister Rhodri Morgan were unveiled and are now housed in the Pierhead Building in Cardiff Bay as well as the National Library. David lives in the Roath area of Cardiff.

He said: 

‘He said "Dafydd was a fascinating subject. I have known him since the 1960s and have followed his political career with great interest.’
 
Lord Wigley was MP and then AM for Caernarfon from 1974 until 2003. He was leader of Plaid Cymru from 1991 to 2000. Last year, it was announced that he had been granted a peerage by the Queen and took his seat in the House of Lords as Baron Wigley of Caernarfon in January this year. He has a long record of campaigning on disability issues, including lobbying to ensure that access to polling stations were included in the Disability Discrimination Bill, the Welsh Language Act of 1993 and with fellow Plaid MPs, securing a compensation settlement for miners with lung disease.

He will be replaced by Sir Deian Hopkin, a historian and lecturer at Aberystwyth university  and former vice-chancellor of London South Bank University.


The portrait will hang in the Library's Council Chamber, alongside the other presidential portraits.



For further information:
Siôn Jobbins, NLW Press Office: 01970 632902 sion.jobbins@llgc.org.uk