ABSOLUTELY
FABULOUS OIL ON BOARD ENTITLED
" A
FARM COTTAGE SNOWDONIA"
SIGNED
K A COOPER
AND
INSPIRED BY SIR JOHN KYFFIN WILLIAMS
A
superb oil painting signed by the artist, K A Cooper, in a manner
heavily influenced by and closely resembling the works of Sir John
Kyffin Williams.
It
is understood that Cooper may have studied alongside Williams in the
early days of his career. Unlike Williams, Cooper was not a prolific
artist and little is known of his life. Some have also suggested that
he may have died during WW2.
A
little about Sir Kyffin Williams:
Sir
John Kyffin Williams, OBE, RA,(9 May 1918 1 September 2006) was a
Welsh landscape painter who lived at Pwllfanogl, Llanfairpwll, on the
Island of Anglesey. Williams is widely regarded as the defining
artist of Wales during the 20th century and his works are highly
sought after, currently commanding over £60,000 at auction.
Williams
was born in Llangefni, Anglesey, one of two sons into an old
landed Anglesey family. His father was a bank manager.
Williams wrote that his mother was an emotionally repressed
woman who had a virulent dislike of the Welsh and the Welsh
language. Kyffin Williams was educated at Moreton Hall School,
Trearddur House School in Anglesey, then at Shrewsbury School where
he contracted polio encephalitis which lead him to develop epilepsy,
a misfortune he later described as "my greatest fortune".
He joined the 6th Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers as a lieutenant in
1937. After he failed a British Army medical examination in 1941
(because of epilepsy), the examining doctor suggested he pursue his
interest in art.
Williams
enrolled at London's Slade School of Fine Art in 1941 (relocated to
Oxford during the war), gaining prizes for portraiture at the end of
both his second and third years. He then achieved his ambition
to teach art by accepting a position at Highgate School, London,
where he was senior art master from 1944 until 1973. His pupils
included the historian Sir Martin Gilbert, Royal Academicians Anthony
Green and Patrick Procktor and composers John Tavener and John
Rutter.
Williams'
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 Mon in Llangefni, Anglesey, as well as at many other
galleries elsewhere in Britain. He was president of the Royal
Cambrian Academy and was appointed a member of the Royal
Academy in 1974. Wales never left his consciousness
or imagination, as he would return home in holidays, take his study
sketches back to London and complete his canvasses.
Williams'
particular technique was applying thick oil paint with a palette
knife, which is precisely the technique adopted by Cooper in this
instance. Williams was predominately a landscape painter but he
also was an accomplished portraitist and something of a cartoonist.
In 1968 he won a Winston Churchill Fellowship to study and paint in Y
Wladfa, the Welsh settlement in Patagonia, South America. This
added a significant body of work to his oeuvre and the light in
Patagonia radically changed his palette. On retiring from
Highgate school Williams returned to Anglesey and spent the next 30
years painting, and promoting Welsh schools of Art and Welsh art in
general.
In
1949 Williams had his first one-man-show at a private gallery in
London. His first Patagonia exhibition took place in 1971.
Later in 2006, the Welsh singer and Manic Street Preachers front man
James Dean Bradfield included a track called "Which Way to
Kyffin", dedicated to Williams, on his album The Great
Western. In 1995 Williams received the Glyndwr 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 was knighted in 1999.
Never
having married, Williams died, without heirs, on 1 September 2006,
aged 88, at St Tysilio Nursing Home on Anglesey. He had been at
the home on the outskirts of Llanfairpwll for just over a week after
spending two weeks as a patient at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor. He
had been suffering from prostate cancer and from lung cancer,
believed to be a result of working with lead-based paints.
Williams was buried at St Mary's Church, Llanfair-yng-Nghornwy.
Paying tribute to Williams after his death, bass-baritone singer and
Williams collector Bryn Terfel said, "I'm deeply saddened by the
passing of Wales's foremost ambassador in the visual arts.
Long may his memory live on in the legacy of his numerous,
wonderful paintings."
The
National Library of Wales was one of the first national
institutions to purchase one of his works in the late forties and
continued to support his work throughout his life. In acknowledgement
of his gratitude for their support he bequeathed them his papers and
a significant body of his works to the National library. They
now hold probably the largest single body of his works.
Please
see the attached photos which are an integral part of this
description. All items are described to the best of my
knowledge, however I usually don't state the obvious as this can be
seen from the numerous photos provided. As can be seen from the
attached photos the painting and its current frame are in excellent
condition.
Items
are offered at prices which reflect a number of factors including
their current condition. Please appreciate that all items are
antique/vintage/used and therefore are likely to show varying degrees
of age-related wear and tear. If you are looking to purchase an item
in guaranteed 100% pristine condition, may I suggest you consider
purchasing something new rather than antique or vintage which will
almost inevitably show some signs of age.
If
you need any additional information please contact me before
proceeding with a purchase or bid. Please be aware that this item is
offered for sale elsewhere so if you intend to purchase please do not
hesitate as it could lead to disappointment! This could also be the closest you will come to owning a Kyffin Williams!
APPROXIMATE
DIMENSIONS:
Overall:
62.5 cm x 42.5 cm
Image:
52.0 cm x 34.0 cm
This
item can be shipped worldwide, subject to the schedule of excluded
countries noted in the listing. Please provide confirmation of your
address along with an email address and telephone number as these may
also be required by the carrier.
If
the item is to be shipped out of the UK (including to the Channel
Islands, Isle of Man, the Scottish Islands and N. Ireland,) please
get in touch (ideally prior to bidding or purchasing a 'buy it now'
item) in order to agree a final shipping quote as THE CHARGE SHOWN IN
THE LISTING IS AN ESTIMATE FOR YOUR GUIDANCE ONLY.
In
the event of a small underestimation of final shipping cost, I will
accept to meet that shortfall. However, if there is a significant
variation between the estimated shipping cost and actual cost then
the additional sum payable will be advised to the buyer for
settlement via a debit which will be raised in PayPal.
Shipping/postage
costs from the UK do not include any provision for import or similar
taxes or customs duties or third party handling fees which may become
payable in the buyers home country. All of these and the like
(if any) are strictly for the buyers own account.
Please
also take particular note that in the unlikely event that an item
needs to be returned to the UK, any sum which becomes payable due to
the re-import of the item will be for the original buyers account and
must be paid prior to shipping the item back to the UK. Unless
otherwise agreed, Insurance is not provided and is something for the
buyer to arrange for themselves, if required. Every effort will
be made to pack items as safely and securely as possible, please
appreciate however that no liability will be accepted for loss or
damage once the item has been dispatched. Please also refer to
the protection which may be provided to you under the eBay money back
guarantee scheme.