2018 marks the centenary of the birth of one of Wales’s most famous artists – Sir Kyffin Williams
THE first antiques fair and vintage market at the National Botanic Garden of Wales for 2018 will be held on Saturday 27 and Sunday, January 28.
Organiser Brita Rogers, of Derwen Fairs, said: “The fair has become quite a spectacle since it began eight years ago, showcasing a wonderful variety of quality antiques and collectables to suit all tastes and budgets and provides a friendly and vibrant atmosphere.
Bargain Hunt is returning for a third year to the National Botanic Garden of Wales, to film its popular BBC programme in January.
Fans of collectibles, curios and classic antiques should make their way to the various venues – including the Lord Foster-designed Great Glasshouse – for displays of Welsh art and pottery, quality jewellery and outstanding militaria collections.
The main reason for the success of this fair is its unique setting. As soon as you step into the Great Glass House you are met with a stunning display of antiques set against a spectacular backdrop of Mediterranean plants.
Brita explained: “The fair will be showcasing Welsh areas of collecting including Welsh pottery, Welsh art and furniture. There will an amazing display of period Welsh oak furniture from child’s chairs, milking stools to larger pieces including dressers and linen press cupboards. Richard Bebb will be displaying a rich array of Welsh paintings including artists such as Kyffin Williams.
The year 2018 marks the centenary of the birth of one of Wales’s most famous artists, Sir Kyffin Williams. He is revered within his homeland and further afield for the empathy his paintings show for the landscape and its people.
Williams was born in Llangefni into an old landed Anglesey family. He took up painting after being diagnosed with epilepsy which prevented him from continuing enrolling in the army. He enrolled at London’s Slade School of Fine Art in and subsequently taught art at Highgate School, London from 1944 until 1973. When he became a full time artist. His pupils included the historian Sir Martin Gilbert, Royal Academicians Anthony Green and Patrick Procktor and composers John Tavener and John Rutter.
In 1968 he won a scholarship (Winston Churchill Fellowship) to study and paint in Y Wladfa; the Welsh settlement in Patagonia.
His works typically drew inspiration from the Welsh landscape and farmlands. His works may be seen in a permanent exhibition in the Oriel Kyffin Williams Gallery which opened in 2008 at Oriel Ynys Môn in Llangefni, Anglesey, as well as at many other galleries elsewhere in Britain. There is also a substantial amount of his work at the National Library of Wales which will be marking his birth with a major centenary exhibition on February 16.
He was president of the Royal Cambrian Academy and was appointed a member of the Royal Academy in 1974. In 1995 Williams received the Glyndwˆr Award for an Outstanding Contribution to the Arts in Wales during the Machynlleth Festival. He was awarded the OBE for his services to the arts in 1982 and a KBE in 1999.
Williams died on September 1, 2006, aged 88.
Richard Bebb will be bringing a number of Kyffin’s watercolours and signed prints to the fair as well as signed copies of his two autobiographies.
The fair opens at 10am and closes at 4.30pm. Admission to the Garden and for the antiques weekend is just £4. Entry is free for Garden members and parking is free for all. For more information contact Brita Rogers on 01267 220 260 or 07790 293 367 or visit www. derwenantiques.co.uk or Facebook