THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WALES RECENTLY ANNOUNCED IT WAS ABLE TO SAVE FOR THE NATION A PAINTING BY WILLIAM DYCE ENTITLED WELSH 'LANDSCAPE WITH TWO WOMEN KNITTING (1860)', THANKS TO THE CRUCIAL FUNDING GRANTS FROM THE NATIONAL HERITAGE MEMORIAL FUND (NHMF), MEMBERSHIP CHARITY, THE ART FUND AND OTHERS. THANKS TO THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF THE NHMF AND THE ART FUND, WHO EACH AWARDED A GRANT OF £166,000, ONE MAJOR DONOR, A NUMBER OF SIGNIFICANT GIFTS AND NEARLY 150 OTHER INDIVIDUAL DONORS, AMGUEDDFA CYMRU HAS NOW ACQUIRED THE PAINTING FOR £557,218. WELSH LANDSCAPE WITH TWO WOMEN KNITTING FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE LATE SIR DAVID SCOTT WAS SOLD AT SOTHEBY'S, LONDON, IN NOVEMBER 2008. IN NOVEMBER 2009 A TEMPORARY EXPORT BAR WAS PLACED ON THE PAINTING, PROVIDING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A BUYER TO RAISE ENOUGH MONEY TO KEEP THE IMPORTANT WORK IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. IT HAS NOW BEEN SAVED FOR THE NATION BY AMGUEDDFA CYMRU, WHICH HAS HAD AN INTEREST IN OBTAINING THE WORK FOR SOME TIME. A CELEBRATION OF WELSH RURAL LIFE, THE PAINTING DEPICTS TWO WOMEN IN FOLK COSTUME INTO A TIGHTLY OBSERVED HILLSIDE IN SNOWDONIA. WILLIAM DYCE WAS ORIGINALLY FROM SCOTLAND AND CAME TO WALES FOR HIS HEALTH AND A 'CHANGE OF AIR' IN 1860. HE WAS IMMEDIATELY CAPTIVATED BY THE AREA. THE PAINTING, BASED ON SKETCHED MATERIAL FROM HIS EXCURSION, WAS PROBABLY PAINTED IN THE STUDIO ON HIS RETURN TO LONDON. THE FINE DEPICTION OF THE NORTH WALES LANDSCAPE ILLUSTRATES THE POPULARITY OF THE CONWY VALLEY AMONGST VICTORIAN PAINTERS, AND CAN BE COMPARED WITH THE WORKS BY DAVID COX, BENJAMIN LEADER AND HENRY CLARENCE WHAITE. WELSH LANDSCAPE WITH TWO WOMEN KNITTING IS ALSO A MEDITATION OF THE TRANSITORY NATURE OF HUMAN LIFE AND ON THE PASSAGE OF TIME. THE DYCE PAINTING IS THE ONLY KNOWN WELSH SUBJECT PICTURE BY AN ARTIST WHO ABSORBED MANY PRE-RAPHAELITE PRINCIPLES. IT WILL NOW FORM A PART OF WALES' NATIONAL ART COLLECTION, WHICH IS CURRENTLY BEING RE-DISPLAYED AT NATIONAL MUSEUM CARDIFF.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.museumwales.ac.uk
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