| Art from Wales forming what is said to be the best collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist art outside France has gone in show in the USA this week.
The exhibition was launched by Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones in the United States to promote Welsh art and culture and to encourage Americans to visit Wales.
From Turner to Cezanne: Masterpieces from the Davies Sisters Collection is a hoard of 50 notable works from the Welsh national art collection held by Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. It includes works by Cézanne, Augustus John, Manet, Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Turner, and van Gogh, many of which have never before been displayed in the United States.
The latest location for the collection, following stops in Ohio, Oklahoma, and New York State, is the Corcoran Gallery in Washington DC, the largest private art gallery in the US capital.
The collection has proved to be a great hit at its previous stops and it is hoped that it will be as much of a success in Washington.
Alun Ffred Jones said: “This travelling exhibition represents some of the jewels in our national collection and their presence in the United States will not only be a treat for arts lovers in the States, but will also help to raise Wales’s profile in Washington, building on Wales’s presence at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in the city last summer.
“The exhibition is just a part of the Welsh story that needs to be told to Americans. These works are amazing pieces and their purchase was a product of the 19th century industrial might of Wales. That wider story, the unique history and special cultural heritance that we have in Wales, is something that we must take every opportunity to tell.�
In addition to officially opening the exhibition in the Corcoran Museum, the Minister will also be undertaking activity to raise awareness of Wales as an overseas tourism destination in the US market, against the background of the Ryder Cup coming to Wales in the autumn. He will also be promoting Wales’s art and culture in a series of meetings and engagements during his time in the USA.
He said: “With the eyes of the sporting world turning to Wales in October when the Ryder Cup arrives here, it’s important that we tell Americans about the great welcome that awaits them across the Atlantic this autumn. I’ll certainly be doing that throughout my visit.� |
