WORKS by two of the most famous artists of all-time will be on display at Swansea’s Glynn Vivian Art Gallery when it re-opens this weekend.
The Studio by Pablo Picasso and Snow Storm by JMW Turner are among the paintings, sculptures, ceramics and other artworks available for public viewing from Saturday October 15.
Picasso, a Spaniard born in 1881, is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century. A major painting from the 1950s, The Studio depicts the studio of La Californie – the villa near Cannes where Picasso moved to in the summer of 1955.
JMW Turner, born in 1775, was an English romanticist landscape painter who the world famous Turner Prize is named after. Snow Storm is thought to depict a particularly bad storm in 1842.
The two works will be among many artworks featured in the redeveloped and restored Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, which has been lovingly preserved and transformed into a visitor attraction fit for the 21st century.
Their displays are thanks to the Glynn Vivian’s status as partner in Plus Tate – a major collaborative arts initiative with London’s famous Tate Gallery
Royal Collection Trust/© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2016
The multi-million pound redevelopment and restoration project at the Glynn Vivian has been funded by the Arts Council of Wales, Swansea Council, the Welsh Government and the Heritage Lottery Fund. Funding was also secured through the Building Enhancement Programme grant scheme run by Swansea Council and funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Enterprise, Development and Regeneration, said: “It’s exciting that works by artists of this calibre will be on display for the benefit of visitors when the Glynn Vivian re-opens to the public on Saturday October 15.
“These paintings will combine with other exhibitions and works by contemporary artists in a redeveloped and restored setting that’s set to inspire, captivate and educate many hundreds of thousands of people in years to come.
“Also on display will be hundreds of artefacts the gallery’s founder, Richard Glynn Vivian, collected on his travels around the world in the 19th century, as well as a series of Leonardo da Vinci drawings that are thought to have been acquired by King Charles II in the 17th century.
“The gallery’s re-opening will further boost Swansea’s status as a city of cultural excellence.”
On display from October 15 to January 6, Leonardo da Vinci: Ten Drawings from the Royal Collection, is showing at the Glynn Vivian as the final venue of a tour to four galleries in the UK and Ireland.
Features of the redeveloped and restored gallery include a new collection store for artworks and new spaces for lectures, touring exhibitions, research and collection displays. Other new features include a street-level entrance, as well as a new café, shop and reception area.
A flamboyant parade through the city centre will take place in the build-up to the gallery’s re-opening.
Image credit: 01_RGV portrait by R.E. Pfeninger, 1882 – City & County of Swansea: Glynn Vivian Art Gallery Collection
