Patrons of the Society and examples of their Work
Names such as Sir Alma-Tadema RA, Peter Graham RA, John Hodgson RA, Henry Stacey Marks RA, James Sant CVO RA, George Frederick Watts OM RA, Benjamin Leader RA, George Storey RA, John Seymour Lucas RA RI - without exception, were all respected Victorian Painters at the top of their profession.
H S Marks RA John Hodgson RA Peter Graham RA
The arrival of the industrial revolution in Cardiff was to create a major change in both the landscape and population of what had been a small town and port. As the worldwide demand for Welsh coal grew, the wealthy Bute family built the docks to be able to export the coal to every corner of the globe. As a result, industrialists, businessmen and professional people were arriving from all parts of the country. Having settled in Cardiff, they were seeking to create cultural activities in the town of their adoption. This was to lead to the creation of the South Wales Art Society and Sketching Club.
The seed of an idea to form an art society in Cardiff had been planted by the North Wales based Royal Cambrian Academy.
In 1886, a small group of Cardiff art enthusiasts who were members of the RCA were to form the foundation of what was to become the South Wales Art Society and Sketching Club. They included:
Clarence Whaite PRCA RWS
He came to Wales in 1849 and became a prominent figure in the Royal Watercolour Society, he was appointed a Life President of the RCA in 1885.
Edwin Seward RCA FRIBA
Seward was born in Somerset in 1853, and moved to Cardiff as an architect. He went on to build some of Cardiff’s most notable buildings in the late 19th Century.
Thomas H Thomas RCA
Born in Pontypool in 1839, studied at The Royal Academy. Thomas settled in Cardiff. He became involved with the Eisteddfod and the Gorsedd. He was President of the Cardiff Naturalists Society.
Extract of ‘Handbook for Cardiff & District’, British Association 1891:
“The Exhibition of The Royal Cambrian Academy, and this (SWAS) are the only regular art exhibitions of importance held in Wales, and those who have usually contributed works include well-known members of the RCA and other centres in London, and some distinguished amateurs, among whom may be named the President and Lady Windsor”
Front cover of the 1st Exhibition held in 1888 at The Public Hall, Cardiff.
In the Society’s centenary year of 1987, the 92nd Annual Exhibition was held at the Albany Gallery. The Society had a membership of over 200 and its studio was in Chapter in the adult education annexe. The Society’s 100th Annual Exhibition was held at the Turner House Gallery in 1995. The eight year gap in the exhibitions was due to World War II.
Over the Society’s history, several studios have been used as its meeting place, its annual exhibitions have been held in many venues and the National Museum of Wales kindly made available to the Society Turner House Gallery in Penarth which was used for annual exhibitions as far back as the 1890s, when its owner Pyke Thompson, an active member of the Society, made the gallery available to SWAS members. Unfortunately, Turner House has not been available for SWAS exhibitions since 2002, but we are very pleased to be returning to this very popular venue for our 2024 exhibition.
‘Turner House, Penarth’, painting by Archie Jones
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History Page 1
SWAS in the 21st Century
The first committee had influential people who would ensure the Art Society’s place in Cardiff.
President: The Rt. Hon. The Lord Windsor
Vice President: Walter Severn RCA
Committee Members:
Lord Windsor’s home at St Fagan’s Castle
Samuel W Allen ARCA
E Tennyson Reed
Miles Aspinall (Architect)
E H Bruton RIBA
Councillor E W Shackell
L J Graham-Clarke RCA MA
James Tilley
Parker Hagarty ARCA
James Harris (Editor, Western Mail)
George Thomas (Architect)
James Hurman (TVR)
W H Thomas
C J Jackson
Rev C J Thompson MA
B S Marks RCA
The Most Hon. The Marquess of Bute KT
The Right Hon. Lord Viscount Bangor
The Right Hon. The Lord Kensington MP
The Right Hon. The Lord Tredegar
The Right Hon. The Lord Aberdare
Col. The Hon. F C Morgan MP
The Worshipful The Mayor of Cardiff
Windsor Jacobs JP
Sir E J Reed KCB MP
Sir H Hussey Vivian MP
Sir William Thomas Lewis
Sir Morgan Morgan
Lieut. Col. E S Hill CB MP
Bowen Rowlands MP
J T Dillwyn Llewelyn MA JP
Major General J R Sladen JP
Major General H H Lee JP
Col C K Kemeys-Tynte JP
Major J Pyke Thompson
L J Graham-Clarke MA JP
Lewis Morris MA JP
W Banks JP (Hon Treasurer. Cambrensis Arch. Association)
Robert Forrest JP
Principal J Viriamu Jones MA (South Wales University College)
James Ware JP
J Pyke Thompson
Arthur O’Neill (Editor, South Wales Echo)
J L Wheatley (Town Clerk, Cardiff)
Aims of the Society:
“The establishment of an Art Society and Sketching Club in this progressive locality supplies two long felt wants, by providing for those who practice drawing, sketching, and painting the incentive or opportunity of a periodical exhibition, and by offereing to those who admire and appreciate, rather than practice, a means of cultivating a taste for Art”
