John Elwyn, (1916 – 1997)

John Elwyn is considered to be one of the most distinguished Welsh painter and is often rated with the likes of Kyffin Williams. Elwyn celebrates and explores the gentile nature of rural west Wales.

He was born in Newcastle Elwyn in rural south Cardiganshire where his father ran a woollen mill. He attended the Royal College of Art in 1938-39 and 1946-47 and began exhibiting from 1948 regularly at the Royal Academy.

He consistently drew upon his experience of rural life in his native Wales and was inspired by the landscape, its people, their language and social traditions. His love of the land and the people that he painted radiates from his work.