The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery is the public

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

of the City and County of

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the C ...

, in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. The gallery is situated in Alexandra Road, near Swansea railway station, opposite the old Swansea Central Library.

History

The creation of the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery was made possible when in 1905

Richard Glynn Vivian Richard Glynn Vivian (31 August 1835 – 7 June 1910) was a British art collector and philanthropist from the Vivian family, and the founder of the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea. Biography Born on 31 August 1835, Richard Glynn Vivian was ...

offered his collection of paintings, drawings and china to the city with an endowment of £10,000. The donor laid the foundation stone himself in 1909, but it was after his death that the Gallery was formally opened in 1911, with "great enthusiasm and gaiety". The building was designed by Glendinning Moxham in the Edwardian Baroque style.

William Grant Murray William Grant Murray (11 August 1877 – 11 November 1950), usually known as Grant Murray, was a British art teacher, gallery curator and artist. He was Principal of Swansea Art School from 1908 to 1943, and the first curator of the Glynn ...

, director of the Swansea Art School, became the Gallery's first director; since 1951 the Gallery has had its own Curator. Glynn Vivian's collection, like most private collections, was eclectic. By donations – including the Deffett Francis collection of prints and drawings and the Kildare S.Meager bequest of Swansea china – and by purchases the Gallery's holdings have become more representative of the range of European art, while remaining rich in the work of local artists. The gallery also presents loan exhibitions and events, and has an educational programme.

Refurbishment 2011

In October 2011 the gallery was closed temporarily for a £6 million refurbishment and recladding of the 1974 extension. During the closure, the gallery planned to continue a programme of activities using alternative local venues. The former chair of the Arts Council of Wales was quoted as saying "The Glynn Vivian is a major civic facility and the only purpose-built art gallery in Wales that is still open. It will be missed by the people of Swansea but they will welcome it back in its renewed form". The work schedule was extended by two years after the original contractor went in to administration. The building re-opened in 2016.

Collection

The gallery displays a broad spectrum of

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile art ...

from the original bequest of

(1835–1910), and includes work by

Old Masters In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

as well as an international collection of

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...

and Swansea china. The paintings include work by Richard Wilson,

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...

, Thomas Jones, Mark Gertler, Augustus John,

Gwen John Gwendolen Mary John (22 June 1876 – 18 September 1939) was a Welsh artist who worked in France for most of her career. Her paintings, mainly portraits of anonymous female sitters, are rendered in a range of closely related tones. Although s ...

Stanley Spencer Sir Stanley Spencer, CBE RA (30 June 1891 – 14 December 1959) was an English painter. Shortly after leaving the Slade School of Art, Spencer became well known for his paintings depicting Biblical scenes occurring as if in Cookham, the sma ...

, Lucien Pissarro, Paul Nash,

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religi ...

, Cedric Morris,

Ben Nicholson Benjamin Lauder Nicholson, OM (10 April 1894 – 6 February 1982) was an English painter of abstract compositions (sometimes in low relief), landscape and still-life. Background and training Nicholson was born on 10 April 1894 in De ...

Alfred Janes Alfred George Janes (30 June 1911 – 3 February 1999) was a Welsh artist, who worked in Swansea and Croydon. He experimented with many forms, but is best known for his meticulous still lifes and portraits. He is also remembered as one of The ...

, Ceri Richards, Ivon Hitchens,

Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was an innkeeper at ...

Evan Walters Evan John Walters (27 November 1892 – 14 March 1951) was a Welsh artist. Biography Walters was born in the Welcome Inn, between Llangyfelach and Mynydd-bach, in south Wales, to nonconformist and Welsh-speaking parents, Thomas Walters (1861- ...

and Kyffin Williams. Among the prints may be found work by

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...

Agostino Carracci Agostino Carracci (or Caracci) (16 August 1557 – 22 March 1602) was an Italian painter, printmaker, tapestry designer, and art teacher. He was, together with his brother, Annibale Carracci, and cousin, Ludovico Carracci, one of the founders of ...

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of t ...

and Ceri Richards. Watercolours and drawings include work by Richard Wilson,

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...

John Sell Cotman John Sell Cotman (16 May 1782 – 24 July 1842) was an English marine and landscape painter, etcher, illustrator, author and a leading member of the Norwich School of painters. Born in Norwich, the son of a silk merchant and lace dealer, C ...

Thomas Rowlandson Thomas Rowlandson (; 13 July 175721 April 1827) was an English artist and caricaturist of the Georgian Era, noted for his political satire and social observation. A prolific artist and printmaker, Rowlandson produced both individual social an ...

Richard Parkes Bonington Richard Parkes Bonington (25 October 1802 – 23 September 1828) was an English Romantic landscape painter, who moved to France at the age of 14 and can also be considered as a French artist, and an intermediary bringing aspects of English sty ...

and Ceri Richards. The Gallery has an extensive collection of Swansea porcelain and china, as well as select pieces of other British and European factories, and of British and French glass. Among these is one of the earliest examples of European porcelain, a Meissen experimental vase complete with AR mark. File:Bartholomeus van der Helst - Portrait of a Young Lady SW GV GV1974 63.jpg , ''Portrait of a Young Lady'' by Bartholomeus van der Helst File:Ceridwen.jpg, ''Ceridwen'' by

Christopher Williams Christopher Williams may refer to: Artists * Christopher Williams (American artist) (born 1956), artist and photographer *Christopher Williams (Welsh artist) (1873–1934) *Christopher Williams, comic book illustrator known as ChrisCross *Christop ...

File:Dore, Gustave; La Sainte Trinite.jpg, ''La Sainte Trinite'' by

Gustave Doré Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré ( , , ; 6 January 1832 – 23 January 1883) was a French artist, as a printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He is best known for his prolific output of wood-engravin ...

File:Correggio; Ecce Homo.jpg, ''Ecce Homo'' by

Antonio da Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sens ...

File:David Cox (I) or David Cox (II) - Landscape with Shepherd.jpg, ''Landscape with Shepherd'' by David Cox File:Godfried Schalcken (attrib.) - Good Night.jpg, ''Good Night'' File:Ecce Homo Gustave Doré.jpg, ''Ecce Homo'' by

File:La folie.jpg, ''La folie'' by

File:Gwen John, The Nun (Glynn Vivian).jpg, ''The Nun'' by

File:Agatha van der Mijn - Study of fruit and flowers.jpg, Study of fruit and flowers by Agatha van der Mijn File:Thomas Jones, Ruined Buildings in Naples.jpg, ''Ruined Buildings in Naples'' by Thomas Jones File:Neath Abbey John Syer.jpg, ''Neath Abbey'' by John Syer

References

External links

*
Paintings at Glynn Vivian Art Gallery on Your Paintings (BBC)
{{authority control Museums in Swansea Organisations based in Swansea Art museums and galleries in Wales Buildings and structures completed in 1911 Art museums established in 1911 1911 establishments in Wales Grade II* listed buildings in Swansea