Green Valley, Carmarthenshire
Artist and role
Hodgkins, Frances Mary (New Zealand, b.1869, d.1947), Artist
Date
1942
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About this work
Rural Wales was a refuge from the stresses of the war and in September 1942 Frances wrote to Dorothy Selby from the Dolaucothy Arms Hotel, Pumpsaint, Llanwrda, Carmarthenshire: ‘I am here & really resting brain and body, wishing you were here … for a spot of mountain air & a spell of sketching before old winter sets in …To me it is paradise after Corfe. Fine country which will be better still in a week or so – harvest in full swing. Cant I tempt you?'(1) And the autumn harvest in full swing is the subject of this joyful, celebratory painting. A month later she wrote to her brother William, ‘You will see that I am in Wales – in a green valley with a big G … reminding me in some ways of NZ. The weather is just filthy, but it is quiet & off the beaten track … . While the weather was good I painted like mad – Did I mention that I am booked for a London Show in the Spring – January or Feb.'(2) Green Valley, Carmarthenshire was shown in the Lefevre Galleries exhibition, along with Welsh Farm (page 159) and thirteen other works inspired by this idyllic place. Every picture sold, Frances received a cheque for almost £300 and the critics were unanimous in their praise.
1. Letter to Dorothy Selby, c. 16 September 1942, Gill, p 528
2. Letter to William Hodgkins, 22 October 1942, Gill, p 529
1. Letter to Dorothy Selby, c. 16 September 1942, Gill, p 528
2. Letter to William Hodgkins, 22 October 1942, Gill, p 529
Measurements
373 x 524 mm sight size
Artist
Credit
Collection of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Purchased 1967 with funds from the Dunedin Public Art Gallery Society
Accession number
20-1967
