Abergavenny Museum celebrates 50th anniversary with local art

Art lovers can celebrate Abergavenny Museum's 50th Anniversary by visiting a new exhibition of works inspired by the landscape of Capel-y-ffin, which will open on Saturday, 27 Jun

The exhibition, ‘A World Untouched: The Artists of Capel-y-ffin', features works by three outstanding artists. These are:

            *           Eric Gill, a renowned craftsman who lived at Capel-y-ffin in the 1920s;

            *           Well known poet and artist David Jones whose heritage is reflected in his work;

            *           Edgar Holloway who returned to Capel-y-ffin several times to pursue his art.

The exhibition includes some of the sculptures Gill created at Capel, alongside examples of his drawings and engravings, as well as works by the other two artists who were influenced by Gill. There will be a selection of Jones' illustrative work and watercolours on show, and some of Holloway's landscapes of Capel-y-ffin will be on display together with his etched portraits, the work for which he is best known

Rachael Rogers, the Museum's Curator, said:

"This is a rare chance to view the work of three exceptional artists, who were inspired by the local area.

"Material has been borrowed from well known art collections and the opportunity to see them in a local museum should not be missed." 

The exhibition, which will run until 27 September 2009 has been made possible through a grant from the ‘Sharing Treasures' scheme, which is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.

The aim of the scheme is to enable local museums to build partnerships with Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales, thereby making possible the display of objects in museums which would not otherwise be able to show such treasures. 

During 2007 one of the galleries at Abergavenny Museum underwent extensive refurbishment to improve its security and environmental conditions. 2009 marks 50 years since the opening of Abergavenny Museum, an appropriate occasion for the inaugural ‘Sharing Treasures Exhibition'.

The Museum is open from Monday to Friday 11-1, 2-5 and Sunday 2-5 and entry is free. For further details please phone 01873 854282 or visit www.abergavennymuseum.co.uk