Discoveries: A Rare Bit of Art in Wales
December 2007
Although widely known for its literary son, Dylan Thomas, Wales is not a country that automatically comes to mind when one thinks about art museums. But if you’re passionate about Impressionist and post-Impressionist art, a trip to its capital of Cardiff should be on your short list. The National Museum Cardiff, which celebrated its centennial in 2007, houses a blue-chip collection amassed by sisters Gwendoline and Margaret Davies and bequeathed to the museum in 1951 and 1963. The assemblage includes 260 masterpieces by luminaries such as Manet, Monet, Cézanne, Pissarro, Rodin, Renoir and Daumier. "The collection is internationally recognized, especially among connoisseurs, but is not as well-known as we would like it to be," says Ann Sumner, the lead curator of the Davies exhibit.The Davies sisters were born in the late 19th century, the granddaughters and heirs of Welsh industrialist David Davies, whose climb to prosperity from tenant farmer’s son to wealthy entrepreneur resembles something out of the pages of a rags-to-riches novel. The sisters lived off their inheritance, never married and remained strict teetotalers and churchgoers throughout their lives, but they were also adventurous travelers. Their taste in art was influenced by the artist and collector Hugh Blaker, who was the brother of their governess. Well-educated in art history, the heiresses traveled extensively throughout Europe to destinations like the Uffizi and the Louvre to further educate their eye.
"The Davies sisters began collecting works by Turner, Cox and Corot, Millet and other artists whose work they had admired in the Louvre," says Sumner. "They also purchased British 18th-century portraits, some Old Master paintings, and particularly enjoyed the paintings of Eugène Carrière. Their tastes were quite broad."
Though Gwendoline and Margaret continued to rely on the advice of Blaker, as well as that of the Scottish animal painter Murray Urquhart, research by Sumner has revealed that, on their own, they immersed themselves in learning about the paintings that they eventually acquired. "Although Gwendoline actually purchased such works as Cézanne’s ‘L’Estaque,’ these [acquisitions] were prepared for together," Sumner says. "Margaret translated Ambroise Vollard’s Life of Cézanne in January 1918 in preparation for Gwendoline’s purchase of the famous painting as well as another artwork, ‘Provençal Landscape,’ in February of that year."
In 1912 the Davies sisters began seriously collecting Impressionist art and continued through 1923, purchasing iconic paintings such as three of Monet’s "Waterlilies," van Gogh’s "Rain at Auvers" (1890) and Monet’s "Rouen Cathedral: Setting Sun" (1894).
"Undoubtedly, our most famous painting is Renoir’s ‘La Parisienne,’ which was one of the stars of the First Impressionist Exhibition in 1874," says Sumner. "The brushwork is loose and the dense blues of the lady’s costume are extraordinary. Her brown eyes are intense and her eyebrows defined. In Cardiff, the painting is known as ‘The Blue Lady.’"
Another highlight, Monet’s "San Giorgio Maggiore by Twilight" (c. 1908), portrays a hazy vision of the spired Venetian island’s silhouette against a color-flecked background of vibrant sky and water. Berthe Morisot’s light-filled "Woman and Child in a Meadow at Bougival" (1882) features two figures, probably depicting the artist’s daughter and maid, with swirls of sunlit, emerald-hued grass and leaves surrounding them.
Visitors also will discover paintings from other periods. "Virgin and Child with a Pomegranate" was produced in the workshop of Sandro Botticelli, rendered with the characteristically graceful lines of the early Renaissance Florentine master. The collection also includes one version of "The Disrobing of Christ" by El Greco, with its dramatic torch-lit Christ painted in vibrant robes with his persecutors around him.The sisters purchased Turner watercolors and oil paintings, such as "The Morning after the Storm" (1840–45) and "The Beacon Light" (1834–40), and fine examples of French drawings and watercolors by Daumier, Pissarro, Puvis de Chavannes and Cézanne.
The Davies Collection is also a showcase for sculpture. Gwendoline acquired a bronze cast of Rodin’s "The Kiss" (1902) and two Degas bronze ballerinas: "Dressed Dancer, study" (1879–80) and "Dancer Looking at the Sole of her Right Foot" (c. 1890).
As part of its centennial celebrations, the museum has mounted "Industry to Impressionism: What Two Sisters Did for Wales," a major exhibition of the Davies Collection, which will be on view through January 6. The museum is currently undergoing a major refurbishment, and starting in late February, approximately 50 paintings from the collection will be on view in one gallery for one year.
If you are unable to travel to Cardiff, take heart: The Davies collection is going on the road. From March 2009 to July 2010, approximately 50 of the sisters’ beloved works will tour the United States in "From Turner to Cézanne: Masterpieces from the Davies Collection." The exhibition will be featured at institutions in South Carolina, Oklahoma, New York, Washington, D.C., New Mexico, as well as in other locations.
Viewing this superb collection will give you an appreciation of the depth of artistic understanding in the lives of these two extraordinary sisters whose art education elevated them from sheltered heiresses to well-traveled art connoisseurs. As Gwendoline noted, "The great love of collecting is to do it yourself—with expert opinion, granted, but one does like to choose for oneself." Her philosophy rings true in the unparalleled collection that she and her sister amassed and generously donated to the people of their country.
Linda Tagliaferro is a New York artist and freelance writer whose articles have appeared in publications including The New York Times and AmericanStyle.