William Jones (active 1818-1869)
Richard Llwyd, 'Bard of Snowdon' (1752-1835)
1835
oil on canvas
Richard Llwyd was a writer, poet and noted authority on Welsh heraldry and genealogy. He was born at the King's Head in Beaumaris, Anglesey, the son of a coastal trader. He attended Beaumaris Free School before entering domestic service. By 1770, he was steward and secretary to Griffith of Caerhun, near Conway. There he pursued his interest in books, manuscripts and records and worked with writers including Sir Richard Colt Hoare and Richard Fenton. He published Poems, Tales, Odes and Sonnets, translations from the British in 1804, but his best known work was Beaumaris Bay (1800). From 1807, he lived in Chester. He was elected an honorary member of the Cymmrodorion Society in 1824.
The artist William Jones worked in Chester. The date of this painting was only recently discovered, following surface cleaning.
Purchased, 1933
NMW A 437