Sir Kyffin William’s iconic landscapes of his beloved Anglesey and North Wales are instantly recognisable and highly sought-after, by Welsh Institutions, the Welsh public, and beyond, a reflection of his personal and artistic achievements over the years.

Born in Llangefni on the island of Anglesey, Sir John Kyffin Williams, or ‘Kyffin’, spent his first years in Chirk, where his father was a bank manager. He attended Shrewsbury School, returning home in the holidays to South Caernarvonshire, where his family had relocated. Here, roaming the countryside and mountains, he would later reflect, “I began to assemble, unknowingly, a vast library of feelings, sensations and knowledge that were to form the foundations of my future life as a landscape painter”.

On leaving school, Kyffin briefly worked for a firm of land agents in Pwllheli, before joining the Royal Welch Fusiliers in 1937. After being medical discharged in 1939 due to epilepsy, he was encouraged by his doctor to take up painting for the sake of his health and soon discovered he had a remarkable natural aptitude. In 1941 he enrolled at the Slade School, at that time relocated in Oxford, where he studied under Randolph Schwabe. Moving to London in 1944, he took up a teaching post at Highgate School in North London, where he was senior art master from 1944 until 1973, counting among his pupils Royal Academicians Anthony Green and Patrick Procktor.

He continued to paint throughout his years teaching, his subjects including portraits, views of Venice, the Tyrol, landscapes of Patogonia, where he won a commission to paint the Welsh settlement there in 1968 - and, of course, his beloved Wales.

His technique evolved from brushwork to an extensive use of palette knife, building thick layers of impasto that evoked the raw ruggedness of the Welsh landscape. It was a technique more commonly used in Europe and Nicolas de Staël (1914-1955), who Kyffin met in 1952, was a notable influence. Kyffin himself citedVan Gogh, with his thick use of paint and broad brushwork, as a significant influence on his work.

His first one-man exhibition was held at Colnaghi’s in London, in 1949, where the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery acquired Tre’r Ceiri, marking an early institutional recognition of his work. Further exhibitions were held at Leicester Galleries, Howard Roberts in Cardiff, and Tegfryn Gallery at Menai Bridge near his home. He also exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists, the New English Arts Club and at the Royal Cambrian Academy, of which he was elected and served as President between 1969 and 1976, and again in 1992.

Following his retirement from Highgate School in 1973, Kyffin took up painting full-time, returning permanently to live in Anglesey, living in the cottage of Min y Mor in Pwllfanogl on the Menai Straits, his home and studio for the remainder of his life. The location, overlooking the dramatic Carneddau mountain range, provided further inspiration for his paintings, which by then were much in demand.

Elected a Royal Academician in 1974 and knighted in 1999 in recognition of his contribution to modern British art, Williams was widely regarded as the doyen of Welsh painting in the latter half of the twentieth century. During his lifetime, a retrospective was held at the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, in 1987 and a retrospective of his portraits at Oriel Ynys Môn Llangefni in 1993.

He continued to paint until his death in 2006, leaving behind a legacy of work that captured the very essence of Wales.

His works may be seen in permanent collection in the Oriel Kyffin Williams Gallery at Oriel Ynys Môn in Llangefni and in museums throughout Wales and the UK, including Aberystwyth, National Library of Wales; Cardiff, National Museum of Wales; London, Arts Council, Government Art Collection, National Portrait Gallery, and Royal Academy.