Discover the paintings of the late Claudia Williams, an artist who forged her impressive career whilst also working as a mother in the face of the fixed gender dynamics of the 1960s and 70s.
In this film by Pete Telfer the art historian Harry Heuser discusses two paintings - Collecting Shells and Madonna and Child with Beach Children - which, characteristically for Williams, have family and mothering as a central theme.
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Who are the people in the pictures? How did Williams create her designs? Learn about the artist's methods, and how her paintings draw on the personal, whilst carefully using palette and pattern to create unified compositions whose open narratives bring the female perspective to the fore.
Dr Harry Heuser is a writer, educator and exhibition curator. He was previously Senior Lecturer in Art History and Director of Research at the School of Art, Aberystwyth University. In 2013 he co-wrote a book with the art historian, curator and writer Robert Meyrick on the artist Claudia Williams, titled 'Claudia Williams: An Intimate Acquaintance' published by Sansom & Company.
Collecting Shells 1951 and Madonna and Child with Beach Children 1983 featured in the Teulu exhibitions at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre March - June 2024, and are part of the art collection of the National Library of Wales.
