The Derek Williams Trust

Two works by Paula Rego from the #DerekWilliamsTrust collection, 'Visitation' and 'Death of the Virgin' (2002) have gone on display in the exhibition 'Dance Among Thorns' at @munchmuseum , Oslo. The show, which runs until 2 August 2026 and spans Rego’s career is the first large-scale exhibition of her work to be shown in the Nordic region. Rego (1935-2022) was one of Europe’s most important figurative artists. Rooted in story, myth and fairytale, her work uses powerful, often surreal imagery to explore subjects such as war, oppression, sexuality and power through the experience of women. 'Visitation' and 'Death of the Virgin' were acquired by the Trust in 2020, and are on long term loan to @museumwales . See these and other works by Rego in the Trust's collection, at the Derek Williams Trust collection website, link in bio. Images © Estate of Paula Rego/Bridgeman Images 2026 @celfarycyd #womenartists #paularego #virginmaryseries #DanceAmongThorns

💫 NOW ON DISPLAY 💫 at #nationalmuseumcardiff : Katie Paterson 'All the Dead Stars' (2009), acquired by the Derek Williams Trust in 2024. The work maps the locations of just under 27,000 dead stars: all those observed by humankind at the time the piece was made. It's shown as part of a collection display looking at just a few of the ways in which astronomy and the cosmos have inspired artists to reflect, interpret and question ideas about the universe and our human place in it. Also excited to see new @museumwales acquisition, 'Spinning Away' by @samlaughlin90 : his photographic series exploring lunar rhythms and tidal movements on the Severn Estuary. #cosmos #artemis #moon Image credits: 1. © Katie Paterson, Mead Gallery, 2013 2. © Katie Paterson, MJC 3, 4. © Sam Laughlin ________________________________ 💫 Yn gwibio mewn i #AmgueddfaGenedlaetholCaerdydd mae 'Yr Holl Sêr Marw' (2009) gan Katie Paterson, caffaeliad gan Ymddiriedolaeth Derek Williams, 2024. Mae'r gwaith yn mapio lleoliad oddeutu 27,000 o sêr marw: yr holl sêr i gael eu gweld gan y ddynolryw ar yr adeg y cafodd y darn ei greu. Mae’n cael ei arddangos ar y cyd gyda darnau eraill o’r casgliad sy'n edrych ar rai o'r ffyrdd y mae seryddiaeth a'r cosmos wedi ysbrydoli artistiaid i fyfyrio, dehongli a chwestiynu syniadau am y bydysawd a'n lle ni ynddo. Rydyn ni hefyd yn gyffrous i weld caffaeliad newydd @museumwales , 'Chwyrndroelli', cyfres ffotograffig gan @samlaughlin90 sy’n archwilio rhythmau’r lleuad a symudiadau’r llanw ar Aber Hafren. Delweddau: 1. © Katie Paterson, © Mead Gallery, 2013 2. © Katie Paterson, © MJC 3, 4. © Sam Laughlin

Erthygl newydd / New article - James Milne, Rhian Israel   Wrth edrych ar astudiaethau Sutherland o’r groes yn Amgueddfa Cymru, gallwn weld ei broses, mae’n arbrofi gyda graddfa, cyfansoddiad a lliw, elfennau oedd yn hollbwysig wrth fynd ati i ffotograffio ei gerflunwaith. Yn y cerflunwaith, mae ffigwr Crist yn ymddangos yn organig er iddo gael ei greu o fetel a marmor, deunyddiau sy’n anystwyth a di-ildio. Am gael gwybod mwy ynghylch y broses ffotograffio a darllen yr erthygl yn ei chyfanrwydd? Ewch draw i’n gwefan - dolen yn y bio. —- By looking at Sutherland’s studies of the crucifix at Amgueddfa Cymru, we can see a thought process at work, there’s an exploration of scale, composition and colour, all of which was extremely valuable in approaching the photography of his sculpture. In the sculpture, the figure of Christ appears organic despite being formed from metal and marble, materials that feel rigid and unyielding. Want to read the article in full and read more about how the work has been photographed? Head over to our website - link in bio.   Graham Sutherland Ffigwr y Croeshoeliad | Crucifix Figure © Graham Sutherland Estate/Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales Casgliad Ymddiriedolaeth Derek Williams - Derek Williams Trust Collection Ffotograffiaeth gan | Photography by Rhian Israel

📢Acquisition Announcement 📢 A collection of photographs and drawings by Derek Boshier (@derekboshier ) has been acquired by Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales (@museumwales ) Drawn from archival photographs and drawings, this group of works includes several from Derek Boshier's Routes series, charting the artist’s time in rural Wales, a country to which he had a deep personal connection to. In the 1970s, Boshier began experimenting with film and photography, producing series that traced journeys through sequences of captured ‘stills’. The works will now be housed in the permanent collection of Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales. These works have been acquired with the generous support of the Derek Williams Trust (@derekwilliamstrust ) and Art Fund (@artfund ) 📸: 1. Derek Boshier, Market, Welshpool, Wales (Routes), 1974, 2. Derek Boshier, Pen Coed, Llangadfan, Wales 1, 1975. 3. Derek Boshier, Sheep D'h Llangadfan, 1976, 4. Derek Boshier, Near Llangadfan I, 1981. All images: Courtesy the Estate of the Artist, Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales and Gazelli Art House. #MuseumWales #Wales #ArchivalPhotography

Last chance to see Giorgio Morandi’s 1927 etching ‘Still Life with Drapery to the Left’ from the Derek Williams Trust collection; on display at #NationalMuseumCardiff for one more week only. Although best known for his still life paintings of vessels, Morandi viewed etching as an equally important and independent art form. Over the years he developed a singular style, conjouring solid forms via a meticulous build-up of meshed and woven lines; images of mystery, space, light and atmosphere. The etching is shown alongside Morandi’s ‘Still Life with Bottles’ 1942, recently acquired by @museumwales with huge thanks to HM Government Acceptance in Lieu (AIL) scheme, and with additional contributions from the #DerekWilliamsTrust and #ArtFund. It is one of only 9 oil paintings by Morandi in UK public collections, and the only one in Wales. AIL is run by Arts Council England. ‘Still Life with Bottles’ remains on display, alongside major still lifes by Cezanne and Picasso. For more info, see link in bio/news. ‘Still Life with Drapery to the Left’ was acquired by the Derek Williams Trust in 2017. Both images © DACS 2026 #morandi @celfarycyd #modernism

Huge excitement here for the opening of ‘Gwen John: Strange Beauties’ at National Museum Cardiff this Saturday, the first retrospective of the artist’s work in over 40 years. Including unseen works from Amgueddfa Cymru’s collection alongside international loans, the show also includes two paintings which were acquired by @museumwales Amgueddfa Cymru thanks to the help of the Derek Williams Trust: ‘A Corner of the Artist’s Room in Paris’ (1907-9) and ‘The Japanese Doll’ (c.1920). For more information, see link in bio/news. For tickets, see museum.wales ‘Gwen John: Strange Beauties’ has been organised by Amgueddfa Cymru in partnership with National Galleries of Scotland, Yale Center for British Art, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC. Images (c) Amgueddfa Cymru @celfarycyd #gwenjohn #strangebeauties #womenartist #welshart #gwenjohnexhibition

Llongyfarchiadau i Sancintya Mohini Simpson, enillydd Gwobr Brynu Artes Mundi Ymddiriedolaeth Derek Williams! 💫 Mae Gwobr Brynu Ymddiriedolaeth Derek Williams yn galluogi Amgueddfa Cymru i brynu gwaith artist sydd ar restr fer Artes Mundi ar gyfer y casgliad parhaol o gelf weledol gyfoes ar gyfer Cymru. 💬 “Roedd y gwaith ar bapur wedi creu argraff arbennig: mae'r defnydd o dechnegau miniaturau o Ogledd India, sy'n gysylltiedig yn draddodiadol â hanesion mytholegol sy'n ceisio cyffredinoli'r anghyfiawnderau a ddangosir, tra bo ceinder, manylder a harddwch y gweithiau yn dod â'r gwyliwr yn baradocsaidd - ac yn frawychus - yn ôl wyneb yn wyneb ag erchyllterau penodol.” Ymddiriedolaeth Derek Williams 📍 Mae gwaith Simpson yn cael ei gyflwyno yn Chapter yng Nghaerdydd ac yn yr Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd. -- Congratulations to Sancintya Mohini Simpson, the winner of the Derek Williams Trust Artes Mundi Purchase Prize! 💫 The Derek Williams Trust Purchase Prize enables a work of art by an Artes Mundi shortlisted artist to be acquired by Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales for the permanent collection of contemporary visual art for Wales. 💬 “The works on paper particularly impressed: the employment of North Indian miniature techniques traditionally associated with mythologised histories serving to universalise the injustices depicted, while the works’ delicacy, accuracy and beauty brings the viewer paradoxically - and shockingly - right back, face to face, with specific horrors.” The Derek Williams Trust 📍 Simpson’s work is presented at Chapter in Cardiff and at National Museum Cardiff. Credit | Credyd: Sancintya Mohini Simpson at National Museum Cardiff, 15 January 2026. Photography - Polly Thomas @celfcymruarts @bagrifoundation @cardiffmet @colwinstoncharitabletrust @art_casw @derekwilliamstrust @britishcouncilwales @britisharts @sancintya @milanigallery @chaptergallery @chapterartscentre @museumwales #ArtesMundi11 #ArtesMundi #BagriFoundation #ContemporaryArt #ContemporaryArtist #ArtInWales #BiennialExhibition #ArtExhibition #InternationalArt #ArtPrize #VisitWales #SancintyaMohiniSimpson

Cofio Craigie Aitchison 🎨 Remembering Craigie Aitchison Ganed yr artist Craigie Aitchison ar y dydd hwn gan mlynedd yn ôl ym 1926, artist fyddai’n dod yn enwog am ei ddefnydd o liw. Yn beintiwr a gwneuthurwr printiau oedd yn adnabyddus am ei baentiadau o’r croeshoeliad, tirluniau, bywyd llonydd ac astudiaethau portread o fodelau, roedd Craigie Aitchison yn creu cyfansoddiadau cytbwys a gwreiddiol. Ers dechrau’r 1960au byddai’n ffafrio gweithio gyda modelau o India’r Gorllewin ac Affrica a Georgeous Macaulay o Nigeria oedd y model du cyntaf iddo weithio gydag e, ac fe beintiodd e dro ar ôl tro. —— Born on this day in 1926, Craigie Aitchison was an artist famous for his use of colour. A painter and printmaker known for his crucifixion paintings, landscapes, still lives and portrait studies of models, Craigie Aitchison created balanced and original compositions. From the 1960s onwards, Aitchison favoured working with West Indian and African models and the Nigerian model, Georgeous Macaulay, was the first black model the artist worked with, and he painted him repeatedly. Craigie Aitchison (1926-2009) 1️⃣ Georgeous Macaulay mewn Sou’wester | Georgeous Macaulay in a Sou’wester 2️⃣ Paentiad Melyn | Yellow Painting ©️Ystâd Craigie Aitchison Estate. Cedwir Pob Hawl All Rights Reserved 2025/Bridgeman Images/Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales Casgliad Ymddiriedolaeth Derek Williams Trust Collection

Prunella Clough, #botd in 1919, found her subjects in the urban landscape of postwar Britain; in wasteland and bombsites, in power stations, scrapyards and docklands. ‘Yard with Scrap Metal II’ (1954) is one of two of her works in the #DerekWilliamsTrust collection. It combines recognisable motifs with an interest in abstraction which Clough would go on to develop in subsequent decades. Taking pleasure in colour, form and texture, she transforms the gritty and the mundane - a heap of chains and metal detritus - into subjects of compelling mystery and beauty. Acquired by the Derek Williams Trust in 2008, on long term loan to @museumwales © Estate of Prunella Clough. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2025 #womenartists #abstraction #industrialart @celfarycyd #modernbritishart #postwarbritishart #womenpainters

“I always work from the window of a house if it is at all possible. I like looking out on to the world from a reasonably sheltered position. I can’t paint in the wind, and I like the indoors outdoors, contained yet limitless feeling of windows and doors.” – David Jones, #botd in Brockley in 1895. ‘View from the Verandah Door’ is one of several images Jones made between 1927 and 1932 at Portslade outside Brighton, while staying in a bungalow ‘built literally,’ he recalled, ‘on the sea margin so that if the weather were at all rough, surf and spray broke on the seaward balconies’. He used this proximity and the ‘indoors outdoors’ to play with perspective and pictorial space, almost to the point of abstraction: behind a patchwork of architectural and domestic forms, the sea rises vertically before us - a literal sea wall - to meet a glowing pink band of sky at the horizon. It was during his time at Portslade that Jones began his epic poem ‘In Parenthesis’, which drew on his experiences during WW1 as a private in the London Welsh battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers. ‘View from the Verandah Door’ 1927 is one of six works by Jones collected by #DerekWilliams in the 1960s, now in the collection of the #DerekWilliamsTrust, on long term loan to @museumwales Image © The Estate of David Jones / Bridgeman Images #modernism #davidjonesartist #seapainting #welshart #celfcymru #inparenthesis @celfarycyd #watercolour #portslade

Do you know the work of Maurice Cockrill, #botd in 1936? His painting ‘Well You Needn’t’ was acquired by the #DerekWilliamsTrust in 2010 and is on long term loan to @museumwales . Cockrill grew up in Wales and studied at Wrexham School of Art before settling in Liverpool and then London. He was elected to the #RoyalAcademy of Art in 1999, becoming Head of the Royal Academy Schools in 2004. He worked in many different styles, but his later work was influenced by his experience of postwar American painting and Abstract Expressionism, particularly the work of Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg and Jackson Pollock. Memories of childhood in north Wales began to surface in Cockrill’s work during the 1980s, and in 1997 he established a studio overlooking the Conwy estuary. ‘Well You Needn’t’ has a lively, improvisatory energy, reflecting his approach to abstraction. A dense ‘cut out’ pink upper layer, whose form echoes the winding river topography of Wales, gives glimpses of a more gestural (possibly even figurative) composition below. Maurice Cockrill (1936 – 2013), ‘Well You Needn’t’ 2008, oil and acrylic on canvas. Image © The Estate of the Artist rekwilliamstrust.org #MauriceCockrill #celfcymru #landscapeart #abstract @celfarycyd @museumwales #welshart #abstraction #abstractexpressionism #celf

Opening tomorrow! @storielbangor : IWAN BALA: ’YR HEN O’R NEWYDD YW’ / ‘(IT IS) THE OLD MADE NEW’ “Over the past twelve months, I have unearthed in my studio, many drawings and paintings from a decade and more ago, and re-worked them. In some there are vestiges of what was there before like palimpsests, and others have become completely new. The message of the work, on the whole, remains the same, although the world has changed.” Iwan Bala Exhibition features two works from the #DerekWilliamsTrust collection: ‘Captive (Enslaved) World’ (2005) and ‘Eicon’ (2005), both pictured and on long term loan to #AmgueddfaCymru @museumwales . Organised as part of #CELF, the national contemporary art gallery for Wales. Runs until 24 December 2025. Images©️The Artist. Acquired by the Derek Williams Trust in 2007. #welshart #iwanbala @iwanbala @celfarycyd #celfcymru #celf