Oriel Mostyn, Vaughan Street, Llandudno - geograph

Mostyn is a public art gallery in

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2011 UK census, the community – which includes Gogarth, Pe ...

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...

. It was previously called Oriel Mostyn ('Oriel' is

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

for 'Gallery') but was rebranded as simply Mostyn following its 2010 revamp.

Background

The roots of the gallery started with a Miss Clarence Whaite (daughter of the president of the

Royal Cambrian Academy of Art The Royal Cambrian Academy of Art (RCA) is a centre of excellence for art in Wales. Its main gallery is located in Conwy and it has over a hundred members. 240px, Plas Mawr, Conwy Early history During the 19th century there were numerous attempts ...

), who in 1894 set up a meeting of 'lady artistes' at the 'Round room' in

Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy o ...

, after an agreement of a name for Miss Whaite's new Society; 'The Gwynedd Ladies' Art Society', Lady Augusta Mostyn, who presided at the meeting was the first to donate £2.2s (~£1500 in 2019 after inflation) which made her the founding member. The gallery was re-established in 1978 in a building that was originally built for wealthy local arts benefactor and photographer, Augusta Mostyn, in 1901. The original Mostyn Art Gallery ran from 1901 to 1913 and for two years housed works by Gwynedd Ladies Art Society (GLAS) who were denied membership of male dominated local art societies on the basis of their gender. As such it was the first gallery in the world to show exclusively the work of women artists. The three (originally five) bay building, faced in red brick and

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta i ...

, is Grade II listed, as a building by the Mostyn Estate architect, G. A. Humphreys, that helps define Llandudno. The same Edwardian building became available in the late 1970s and was proposed as the home of a new gallery for North Wales. It was officially opened on 11 August 1979. It reopened again in May 2010 after a £5 million refurbishment, partly financed by a £3 million grant from the

Arts Council of Wales The Arts Council of Wales (ACW; cy, Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru) is a Welsh Government-sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales. Established within the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1946, as the Welsh Arts ...

. The refurbishment of the original galleries and the new extension was by Ellis Williams Architects, and won the Gold Medal for Architecture from the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitors ...

in 2011. The gallery rebranded itself as Mostyn, dropping the word 'Oriel' and upsetting some local people by dropping the Welsh prefix. Mostyn is a charity registered in England and Wales (Mostyn Gallery Limited 507842).

Facilities

The building, retaining its original terracotta facade, has been remodelled internally to create four major exhibition spaces and two smaller areas. It has a cafe, shop and educational facilities.

References

External links

* {{coord, 53.3210, N, 3.8238, W, source:wikidata, display=title Contemporary art galleries in Wales Art galleries established in 1901 Art galleries established in 1978 Grade II listed buildings in Conwy County Borough 1901 establishments in the United Kingdom Welsh Eisteddfod Gold Medal winners Llandudno