The Welsh Group () is an artists' collective, with the purpose of exhibiting and "giving a voice" to the visual arts in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Beginnings

The group began in 1948 as the South Wales Group, consisting of both professional and amateur artists.Karen Price
"Art group marking 60 creative years"
WalesOnline, 21 November 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2013.David Moore

Planet Online. Retrieved 23 April 2013. The group's initial conception was a response to the

Royal Cambrian Academy 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. image:Plas Mawr.jpg, 240px, Plas Mawr, Conwy Early history During the 19th century there w ...

's relatively weak representation from

south Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

at that time. In the foreword to the South Wales Group’s first exhibition catalogue, David Bell wrote "It is the purpose of the Group to establish a new link between the artists of South Wales and their public". During the 1960s the South Wales Group had begun exhibiting further afield in

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

mid Wales Mid Wales ( or simply ''Y Canolbarth'', meaning "the midlands"), or Central Wales, is a region of Wales, encompassing its midlands, in-between North Wales and South Wales. The Mid Wales Regional Committee of the Senedd covered the unitary autho ...

and into

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

. The group adopted its current, broader title of The Welsh Group by 1975, by which time it had also become a fully professional artists' group and, though its south east tendency is still an issue of some contention, the group had expanded its membership beyond south Wales (including a number who are also members of the Royal Cambrian Academy and/or the

56 Group Wales The 56 Group Wales () is an artists' organisation founded in Wales in 1956, with the aim of promoting Welsh Modernist art and artists. The name was originally simply the 56 Group: "Wales" was added in 1967, in response to a feeling that the org ...

, a splinter group initiated in 1956 when the South Wales Group failed to become a southern Academy).

21st century

An exhibition curated and researched by Welsh Group member Dr Ceri Thomas and funded by

The National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales (, ) in Aberystwyth is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million books and periodicals, and the la ...

Arts Council of Wales The Arts Council of Wales (ACW; ) 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 Council (), its English name w ...

, Contemporary Art Society for Wales and the Welsh Group, was launched at the National Library of Wales, (

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

), before touring to the

, and Newport Museum & Art Gallery. The exhibition, ''Mapping The Welsh Group at 60'', included work by current and past members spanning a period from soon after the

second world war World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to work completed in the twenty-first century, just after

Welsh devolution Welsh devolution is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, transfer of legislative powers for self-governance to Wales by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The current system of devolution began following the enactment of the Government of Wa ...

. At the exhibition launch

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( ) is the Executive (government), executive arm of the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of Cabinet secretary, cabinet secretaries and Minister of State, ministers. It is led by the F ...

Heritage Minister at the time

Alun Ffred Jones Alun Ffred Jones (born 29 October 1949) is a Welsh politician and member of Plaid Cymru and former television producer, writer and director. Jones was the National Assembly for Wales Member for Caernarfon 2003–07 and for the newly created ...

highlighted the group's importance: "The Welsh Group's 60th anniversary exhibition is a major event for the arts in Wales, bringing together work from talented Welsh artists old and new". A fully illustrated colour book published by Diglot Books accompanied the exhibition. Today the group exhibits in Wales and internationally, including recent exchange exhibitions with visual art groups in the USA and Germany.

Membership

Full membership is made up of approximately 40 Welsh or Wales-based artists, including: * Sue Hiley Harris * Paul Edwards * Heather Eastes * Anthony Evans * Christine Evans * Veronica Gibson * Chris Griffin * Jacqueline Jones * Angela Kingston * Gus Payne * Jacqueline Alkema * Jenny Allan * Lynne Bebb * Simone Bizzell-Browning * Paul Brewer *

Glenys Cour Glenys Irene Cour ( Carthew, born 6 January 1924) is a Welsh artist. Biography Cour was born in Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, Wales on 6 January 1924. From 1945 until 1948, she studied at Cardiff College of Art under Ceri Richards and married ...

* Ivor Davies * Ken Dukes * Wendy Earl * Lorna Edmiston * Ken Elias * Robert Harding * Mary Husted * Dilys Jackson * Maggie James * Kay Keogh * Robert Macdonald * Philip Nicol * Shirley Anne Owen * Roy Powell * Sue Roberts * Gerda Roper * Alan Salisbury * Philippine Sowerby * Thomasin Toohie * Philip Watkins * Jean Walcot * Jess Woodrow * Pip Woolf * Karin Mear The chair is Paul Edwards, the secretary Neil Stone and the treasurer Heather Eastes. Since 2002, with the deaths of a number of long lasting members, new members were elected, resulting in a greater gender balance and an increase in members from outside

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. From 2007 the group has included a graduate member and in 2012 artist Tiff Oben began a three-year Fellowship with the group.

Mathew Prichard Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

is the group's president.

Former members

Former members have included major names from the field of modern Welsh art including Peter Bailey, William Brown, Brenda Chamberlain, Mary Fogg,

Arthur Giardelli Vincent Charles Arthur Giardelli, MBE, (11 April 1911 – 2 November 2009) was a Welsh artist of Italian paternal descent. Giardelli's work is held in many collections including the Tate, the National Museum of Wales, the National Library of ...

, Tony Goble, Bert Isaac, John Petts, David Tinker, Islwyn Watkins, Laurie Williams and

Ernest Zobole Ernest Zobole (25 April 1927 – 27 November 1999) was a Welsh painter and art teacher. Zobole's paintings, originally oil on canvas, later switching to oil on board, reflected the industrial setting of the Rhondda Valleys. A member of the ''Rh ...

Publications

* * * *

References

External links

The Welsh Group website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welsh Group, The Welsh art Welsh artist groups and collectives Arts organizations established in 1948 1948 establishments in Wales 20th-century Welsh painters 21st-century Welsh painters Welsh sculptors 20th-century British sculptors