kyffin williams, born 1918
WELSH LANDSCAPE ARTIST
Sir Kyffin Williams, KBE, 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. Despite academic difficulties—he was told initially by his tutor that he couldn't draw—Williams enrolled at London's Slade School of Fine Art in 1941 (then relocated in Oxford). When he finished his 3 years there he left with the Slade Portrait Prize. 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.
Click below to view his life story, which is the transcript of a National Life Stories interview:
Source: Transcript of an oral interview of Kyffin Williams at the British Library’s National Life Stories collection.