Sir Frank Brangwyn (1867-1956)

Brangwyn was born in Bruges of Welsh parents. Self taught as an artist he was apprenticed to William Morris (1882 - 4) and later retained an interest in applied art ceramics and textiles while becoming celebrated for large paintings and murals. He travelled extensively in Europe, The Balkans, the Near and Far East where he gained an International reputation. He depicted architectural subjects, marinas, figure compositions and industrial scenes in a powerful, decorative and sonorous non-baroque style. He was an official war artist during the First World War.

  

A retrospective in 1924 was opened by the then Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald. In 1930 he executed mural commissions in the House of Lords which were refused and are now in the Museum at Swansea. There is a permanent collection of his works in the Brangwyn Museum, Bruges. His works are widely collected on both sides of the Atlantic - he has a great following in the United States.