The Story of Welsh Art 

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Simulcast of BBC Two Wales in high definition

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Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media: Arts

Broadcaster Huw Stephens discovers the many treasures of Welsh art.

Broadcaster Huw Stephens discovers the many treasures of Welsh art, following the story from prehistoric times up to the present day.

Series 1

BBC Four

BBC Four HD

Until 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales (analogue) was known simply as BBC Two Wales. BBC Two Wales (digital) was BBC 2W. From 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales schedules on both analogue and digital became identical

BBC Two Wales

Huw Stephens

Ian Michael Jones

Judith Winnan

Wildflame Productions UK

The Story of Welsh Art: Series 1: Episode 2

Episode 2

BBC Two - The Story of Welsh Art, Series 1, Episode 2

How the dramatic landscape of Wales inspired artists and shaped the course of art history.

From the 18th century, the dramatic landscape of Wales captivated artists like Richard Wilson and JMW Turner, who painted it in ways that changed the course of art history.

Scrambling up the side of one of Wales's highest and most rugged mountains, Huw Stephens retraces the steps of Richard Wilson, an 18th-century artist who changed the course of art history. Bringing harmony and beauty to a terrain previously dismissed as 'God’s rubbish tip', he transformed the way Wales was seen by the world. As Huw discovers, he was not the last to do so – JMW Turner first visited Wales aged 17 and would return many times, painting untamed landscapes filled with romance and emotion. 

As the 19th century progressed, a very different Wales became the focus of art. In Merthyr Tydfil, once the iron capital of the world, Huw discovers the work of Penry Williams, a local artist who was commissioned to paint the vast Cyfarthfa Ironworks in all their cathedral-like grandeur and glory. As art and industry collided, the people who did the back-breaking work were depicted for the first time. 

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The Story of Welsh Art

Series 1

Episode 2

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