Robert Alwyn Hughes (born 1935 in

Dowlais Dowlais () is a village and community of the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. At the 2011 census the electoral ward had a population of 6,926, The population of the Community being 4,270 at the 2011 census having excluded Pant. Dowlai ...

, Wales) is a Welsh artist.

Artwork and childhood

Hughes's childhood memories continue to have an impact upon his artwork, with numerous references to Welsh landscape and culture, especially that of the south Wales valleys and Dowlais Top and Caeharris in particular: As a child he would regularly explore the local rugged landscape outside his back-door, just below the Brecon Beacons. His father worked at

Bedlinog Bedlinog is a small village (and larger community) located in The Taff Bargoed valley (Cwm Bargoed), north of Pontypridd, north west of Caerphilly and south east of Merthyr Tydfil in south-east Wales. It is currently in the south of Merthyr Ty ...

Colliery and had a love of Welsh literary classics. His mother was a devout

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

and his uncles bread pigeons and ponies. The family's first language at home was

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 ...

until young Robert began attending the Dowlais Central School at the age of five years (when he began using English). A recent body of work, which references an older series, 1961's ''At Valleys End'', highlights the relevance Hughes gives to his past growing up in a south Wales town, alongside a much more global perspective, with modern references to religion and warfare. Hughes puts great importance on needing a "grasp of identity worldwide", merging ideas, symbols and images from a number of different sources.

Career

Hughes studied Fine Art from 1953 to 1957 at

Newport College of Art The University of Wales, Newport ( cy, Prifysgol Cymru, Casnewydd), was a university based in Newport, South Wales, before the merger that formed the University of South Wales in April 2013. The university had two campuses in Newport, Caerleon ...

, from 1957 to 1958 at

Leicester College of Art De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was ta ...

and from 1958 to 1961 at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It o ...

. Together with painting and exhibiting widely, from 1962 he also taught at

Cheltenham College of Art , mottoeng = In Spirit and Truth , established = , type = Public , endowment = £2.4 m (2015) , chancellor = Rennie Fritchie, Baroness Fritchie , vice_chancellor ...

, until retiring from teaching in 1991 to concentrate on painting. Together with painting, during the 1970s and 1980s Hughes was also active in creating experimental film & photographic work, producing commissioned films under the title, taken from an ancient Welsh poet,

Taliesin Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the '' Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to have sung at the courts ...

. He founded the Welsh Modern Art e-newsletter 'WalesModern' in 2003.

Exhibitions

Hughes has exhibited widely. His work was first shown at the 1958 National Eisteddfod of Wales, where he was awarded the

Welsh Arts Council The Arts Council of Wales (ACW; cy, Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru) is a Welsh Government-sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales. Established within the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1946, as the Welsh Arts ...

Purchase Prize. He also exhibited from 1960 to 1961 with the Arts Council of Great Britain, the

, the Contemporary Arts Society, Grosvenor Gallery London and Young Contemporaries. From 1962 onwards he has exhibited in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and internationally with both solo and mixed shows, including exhibitions as a member of the Watercolour Society of Wales, The Welsh Group and the 56 Group Wales. His work is in numerous public collections including: Arts Council of Great Britain, Arts Council of Wales, Contemporary Arts Society of Great Britain, Contemporary Arts Society of Wales,

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, c ...

University of South Wales The University of South Wales ( cy, Prifysgol De Cymru) is a public university in Wales, with campuses in Cardiff, Newport and Pontypridd. It was formed on 11 April 2013 from the merger of the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wa ...

, Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery, and Newport Museum & Art Gallery, Cambria Airways, P&O Shipping Lines, Gloucestershire Education Authority, Leicestershire Education Authority,

Westminster Hospital Westminster Hospital was a hospital in London, England, founded in 1719. In 1834 a medical school attached to the hospital was formally founded. In 1939 a newly built hospital and medical school opened in Horseferry Road, Westminster. In 1994 the ...

and

Y Gaer Y Gaer () is a Roman fort situated near modern-day Brecon in Mid Wales, United Kingdom. Y Gaer is located at (Landranger 160). History Y Gaer was built around AD 75 and sits on a crossroads of Roman roads in the valley of the River Usk at a ...

References

9. A Wales Art Collection (Art Education for Primary and Secondary Schools). Pub. Genesis

External links

Robert Alwyn Hughes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Robert Alwyn 1935 births Living people 20th-century Welsh painters 20th-century Welsh male artists 21st-century Welsh painters 21st-century Welsh male artists Academics of the University of Gloucestershire Alumni of De Montfort University Alumni of the Royal College of Art Alumni of the University of Wales, Newport Artists from Cheltenham Members of the 56 Group Wales Members of The Welsh Group People from Dowlais Welsh male painters