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Gwendoline Elizabeth Davies, CH (11 February 1882 – 3 July 1951), was a Welsh philanthropist and patron of the arts who, together with her sister
Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...
, is recognised as the most influential collector of Impressionist and 20th-century art in Wales. She and her sister were independently wealthy, their fortune inherited from the businesses created by their grandfather, the industrialist David Davies. Davies and her sister created one of the most important private collections of art in Britain and donated their total of 260 works to what is now the
National Museum Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
in the mid-20th century.


Early life and education

Gwendoline Davies was born at
Llandinam Llandinam () is a village and community (Wales), community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, central Wales, between Newtown, Powys, Newtown and Llanidloes, located on the A470 road, A470. As a community, Llandinam is made up of the village itself, small ...
, daughter of Edward Davies and his wife Mary, who was the daughter of Evan Jones, a
Calvinistic Methodist Calvinistic Methodists were born out of the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival and survive as a body of Christians now forming the Presbyterian Church of Wales. Calvinistic Methodism became a major denomination in Wales, growing rapidly in the 1 ...
minister. Edward was the only son of the industrialist and philanthropist David Davies. Gwendoline's brother
David Davies, 1st Baron Davies David Davies, 1st Baron Davies (11 May 1880 – 16 June 1944) was a Welsh Liberal politician and public benefactor who was MP for Montgomeryshire from 1906 to 1929. He was a grandson of the great Welsh industrialist David Davies. As a ph ...
, was elevated to the
Peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...
in 1932 and her sister was
Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...
. Both girls were educated at Highfield School in Hendon.


Arts patronage


Art collection

In 1908 while travelling in Europe, the sisters began to collect art. In particular, they purchased many works by the
Impressionists Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...
and post-Impressionists, although they also acquired holdings of 20th-century modern artists, such as
Josef Herman Josef Herman (3 January 1911 – 19 February 2000), was a highly regarded Polish-British painter who influenced contemporary art, particularly in the United Kingdom. He was part of a generation of central and eastern European Jewish refuge ...
,
Oskar Kokoschka Oskar Kokoschka (1 March 1886 – 22 February 1980) was an Austrian artist, poet, playwright, and teacher best known for his intense Expressionism, expressionistic portraits and landscapes, as well as his theories on vision that influenced the ...
,
Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarg ...
,
Stanley Spencer Sir Stanley Spencer, CBE RA (30 June 1891 – 14 December 1959) was an English painter. Shortly after leaving the Slade School of Art, Spencer became well known for his paintings depicting Biblical scenes occurring as if in Cookham, the small ...
,
Frank Brangwyn Sir Frank William Brangwyn (12 May 1867 – 11 June 1956) was a Welsh artist, painter, watercolourist, printmaker, illustrator, and designer. Brangwyn was an artistic jack-of-all-trades. As well as paintings and drawings, he produced des ...
, and
Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cra ...
.
Hugh Blaker Hugh Blaker (1873–1936) was an English artist, collector, connoisseur, dealer in Old Masters, museum curator, writer on art, and a supporter and promoter of modern British and French painters. Life and career Hugh Oswald Blaker was born on ...
, art collector who was curator of the
Holburne Museum The Holburne Museum (formerly known as the Holburne of Menstrie Museum and the Holburne Museum of Art) is located in Sydney Pleasure Gardens, Bath, Somerset, England. The city's first public art gallery, the Grade I listed building, is home to ...
from 1905 – 1913 was an adviser to the Davies sisters and assisted in securing their vast art collection. Gwendoline and Margaret Davies bought the mansion of
Gregynog Gregynog () is a large country mansion in the village of Tregynon, northwest of Newtown in the old county of Montgomeryshire, now Powys in mid Wales. There has been a settlement on the site since the twelfth century. From the fifteenth to t ...
just after the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, following long discussions with their lifelong friend Thomas Jones, and set up an arts centre there. In 1923 the sisters launched the
Gregynog Press The Gregynog Press, also known as Gwasg Gregynog, is a printing press and charity located at Gregynog Hall near Newtown in Powys, Wales. Early years Founded in 1922 by the sisters and art patrons Margaret and Gwendoline Davies, guided by Thom ...
, printing fine
limited edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...
s in both English and
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
. Jones was chairman of the press throughout its existence.


Music patronage - Gregynog Music Festival

Whereas art was Margaret's passion, Gwen was a talented amateur musician. From 1933 to 1938, they sponsored the
Gregynog Music Festival 250px, alt=The Music Room, Gregynog, The Music Room, GregynogGregynog Music Festival, or Gŵyl Gregynog in Welsh, is the oldest extant classical music festival in Wales and takes place each summer at Gregynog Hall in the village of Tregynon, near ...
at their estate, a 3–4-day affair that included poetry readings. The festivals played host to important composers and other musical figures of the period, including
Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...
,
Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
,
Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...
, "the conductor
Adrian Boult Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, CH (; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London ...
, and the poet
Lascelles Abercrombie Lascelles Abercrombie, (9 January 1881 – 27 October 1938) was a British poet and literary critic, one of the "Dymock poets". After the First World War he worked as a professor of English literature in a number of English universities, w ...
; and performers including
Jelly d'Arányi Jelly d'Aranyi, fully Jelly Aranyi de Hunyadvár ( hu, Hunyadvári Aranyi Jelly (30 May 189330 March 1966) was a Hungarian violinist who made her home in London. She was born in Budapest, the great-niece of Joseph Joachim and sister of the violin ...
and the Rothschild Quartet."Ragor: "Gregynog: Arts and Music for Wales"
, National Museum Wales, accessed 13 October 2010
The sisters ended the festival during the build-up to the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It was revived during 1955–1961 by
Ian Parrott Ian Parrott (5 March 1916 – 4 September 2012) was a prolific Anglo-Welsh composer and writer on music. His distinctions included the first prize of the Royal Philharmonic Society for his symphonic poem ''Luxor'', and commissions by the BBC a ...
, who was Gregynog Professor of Music at
Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...
for more than 30 years. The festival was revived again in 1988 by the tenor
Anthony Rolfe Johnson Anthony Rolfe Johnson (5 November 1940 – 21 July 2010) was an English operatic tenor. Early life Anthony Rolfe Johnson was born in Tackley in Oxfordshire. As a boy, he demonstrated musical ability and sang as a boy soprano, making a record ...
. It continues under Rhian Davies's direction.


Later life

Neither of the sisters married. Gwen died in
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. Her ashes were buried at her birthplace of Llandinam, as were her sister's after her death in 1963.


Art legacy

In 1953 and 1961, the Davies sisters' collection of 260 works was bequeathed to the
National Museum of Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
, forming the nucleus in the mid-20th century of its international art collection and greatly expanding its range. It has been called "one of the great British art collections of the 20th century." Among these were seven oil paintings that had been bought as
Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turni ...
s (including The Beacon Light).Wales Online
/ref> Three of these were subsequently judged to be fake and withdrawn from display. These works were re-examined by the BBC TV programme,
Fake or Fortune ''Fake or Fortune?'' is a BBC One documentary television series which examines the provenance and attribution of notable artworks. Since the first series aired in 2011, ''Fake or Fortune?'' has drawn audiences of up to 5 million viewers in t ...
where they were reinstated as genuine Turners. All seven paintings will now be exhibited together. In 1967, the Davies Memorial Gallery was purpose-built in
Newtown, Powys Newtown ( cy, Y Drenewydd) is a town in Powys, Wales. It lies on the River Severn in the community of Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn, within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It was designated a new town in 1967 and saw population growt ...
with a legacy left by the Davies sisters. In January 2003, after major refurbishment, the Gallery re-opened as Oriel Davies Gallery in recognition of the sisters.


Honours

* 1937, Gwen Davies was created a
Companion of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. Founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire, it is sometimes ...
.


Note

Gwendoline Elizabeth Davies should not be confused with the Hon. Gwendoline Rita Jean Davies (born 1929), the daughter of her brother, David Davies, 1st Baron Davies.


References


Sources


"Gwendoline Davies"
Welsh Biography Online
BBC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Gwendoline 1882 births 1951 deaths British publishers (people) Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Welsh art collectors Women art collectors Welsh philanthropists People associated with the Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales Private press movement people Burials in Wales