Sir Kyffin Williams | |
---|---|
Born |
John Williams 9 May 1918 Llangefni, Anglesey |
Died | 1 September 2006 Anglesey |
(aged 88)
Nationality | Welsh |
Known for | Landscapes |
Awards | RA (1974), OBE (1982), KBE (1999) |
Sir John "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.
Williams was born in Llangefni, Anglesey into an old landed Anglesey family. His father was a bank manager. Kyffin Williams was educated at Moreton Hall School then Shrewsbury School before joining the 6th Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers as a lieutenant in 1937. After he failed a British Army medical examination in 1941 (because of epilepsy), his doctor advised him to take up art for the sake of his health.
Despite academic difficulties, Williams enrolled at London's Slade School of Fine Art in 1941 and taught art 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. In 1968 he won a scholarship (Winston Churchill Fellowship) to study and paint in Y Wladfa; the Welsh settlement in Patagonia.