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Williams, Kyffin, 1918-2006 -- Correspondence
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Kyffin Williams letters to Ian Skidmore and Celia Lucas

  • NLW MS 24099D
  • File
  • 1991-2002

Eleven letters, 1991-2002, from Kyffin Williams, Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, Anglesey, to his friends and near neighbours the broadcaster Ian Skidmore and his wife, the writer Celia Lucas, mainly offering thanks or congratulations, with most containing pen and ink self-portrait cartoons.
The correspondence includes four letters addressed to Celia Lucas (ff. 2-4, 10, the first two in French), three to Ian Skidmore (ff. 1, 9, 11) and two addressed to both (ff. 6, 8); together with a poem concerning the writer and critic A. A. Gill (f. 7) and a limerick addressed to Skidmore (f. 11). The cartoons portray Kyffin in a dunce cap (f. 1), as a Frenchman (f. 2 verso), as a 'naughty little boy' (f. 4 verso), celebrating (f. 5), with an ear trumpet (f. 6 verso), as [?'a fox-hunting man'] (f. 8), dancing with Ian Skidmore (f. 9) and waving a handkerchief (f. 10). There are also cartoons of A. A. Gill being grilled by Old Nick (f. 7) and Ian Skidmore waving a flag (f. 11).

Williams, Kyffin, 1918-2006

Letters to John Elwyn : S-W,

Some one hundred and forty letters, 1948-1997, in English and Welsh, to John Elwyn from various correspondents (surnames S-W), both personal and work related.
The correspondents include Christopher Sandford, 1953 (ff. 12-13), Meic Stephens, 12 December 1995 (f. 22), Winifred Coombe-Tennant, 19 February 1948 (f. 33), Dewi-Prys Thomas, 1977-1978 (ff. 36-37), David Tinker, 1967 (ff. 44-45), John Ward, 1967-1992 (ff. 75-78 verso), George Weber of Edmonton, Alberta, 1987-1994 (ff. 81-97 verso), Sir Huw Wheldon, 1961, [?late 1970s] (ff. 116-118), Phillip Whitfield, 1991-1996 (ff. 119-146 verso), the Rev. G[wilym] O[wen] Williams, 20 February 1952 (f. 158), Kyffin Williams, [1960s]-1995 (ff. 161-167), Stan Williams, [?early 1990s], (f. 171), and the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art, 1965-1967 (ff. 148-153). Also included are draft letters from John Elwyn (ff. 53, 58 verso-59 verso, 63 verso, 100) and drafts of two poems by Phillip Whitfield, 1991-1992 (ff. 124, 127, 129, 131, 134, 138, 141), with a translation into Welsh of one of them [?by John Elwyn], [?1992] (f. 147).

Kyffin Williams letters to Elin McGorran

Two letters, 19 April 1981 and 21 May 1993, from the artist Kyffin Williams, Pwllfanogl, Llanfairpwll, to Elin [McGorran], who, as a student of Fine Art at University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, in 1981 was writing a dissertation on Williams.
Williams refers to McGorran's recent visit to interview him for the dissertation (f. 32) and discusses the antagonism of some members of the Welsh art establishment towards him (f. 33). Williams includes a self-portrait sketch in ink, depicting himself on horseback 'on a sheep station … in the Australian Outback' (f. 33 verso).

Williams, Kyffin, 1918-2006

Kyffin Williams letter

Autograph letter, 2 February 1993, from Kyffin Williams, Pwllfanogl, Llanfairpwll, to Margaret [Toms], thanking her for a letter of appreciation for his autobiography A Wider Sky (Llandysul, 1991) (f. 86 recto-verso).
Williams and Toms, a former Royal Academy staff member, had a mutual friend in Sidney Hutchison, former Secretary of the Royal Academy, and Williams refers to their recent dinner together in Beaumaris (as recorded in Williams's journal, 14 September 1992, see NLW, Kyffin Williams Archive A2/3). Also included is a card with a printed portrait by WIlliams, inscribed 'Happy Christmas - Kyffin' (f. 87).

Williams, Kyffin, 1918-2006

Letters to Meic Stephens

Over a hundred and fifty letters, 1961-88 in English, Welsh and French, from various correspondents (surnames Jones-W). The letters, some of which include fair copies of published poems, are chiefly concerned with contemporary writing in Wales in both English and Welsh and with the recipient's work as editor of a number of volumes in this field. The correspondents include Glyn Jones (36, and three poems) 1967-86, Gwyn Jones (6) 1967-87, Saunders Lewis (1) 1974, Roland Mathias (17) 1961-86, Leslie Norris (32, and one poem) 1967-86, Eigra Lewis Roberts (2) 1970-3, R. S. Thomas (1) 1975, John Tripp (8) 1968-78, Harri Webb (14) 1967-79, and Kyffin Williams (8) 1970-1.

Kyffin Williams letter to John Harry Fisher Evans

A letter, 13 August 1987, from Kyffin Williams, Pwllfanogl, Llanfairpwll, to John Harry Fisher Evans, Cardiff, illustrated with a self-portrait sketch in ink of the artist holding a shotgun. Williams discusses his ability with a shotgun and the recent award of a life peerage to his friend Nicholas Edwards (subsequently Baron Crickhowell).

Williams, Kyffin, 1918-2006

Kyffin Williams letter

Autograph letter, 24 February 1981, from Kyffin Williams, Pwllfanogl, Llanfairpwll, to 'John', requesting his advice on how to acquire and prime new canvasses now that John has retired. The recipient may be John Reynolds of Highgate, supplier of materials to the artist.

Williams, Kyffin, 1918-2006

Kyffin Williams letter,

A letter, 26 May 1970, from Kyffin Williams, [London], to Meic Stephens, [Literature Director of the Welsh Arts Council], attempting to secure financial support to publish his book on his 1968-1969 visit to Patagonia.
The book remained unpublished, although parts of it appeared as 'An Artist in Welsh Patagonia', in The Anglo-Welsh Review, 18.42 (February 1970), 5-32, or would be adapted for his book A Wider Sky (Llandysul, 1991). The letter contains references to Christopher Falkus of prospective publishers Weidenfeld [& Nicolson].

Williams, Kyffin, 1918-2006

Kyffin Williams letter to Gwyn and Harry Brown

Letter, 15 November 1968, from Kyffin [Williams] in Gaiman, Patagonia, to his friend the painter Gwyn Brown and her husband Harry, Tegfryn [Art Gallery], Menai Bridge, Anglesey, containing observations on the scenery and people, the weather, the challenging conditions for painting and the difficulties of communicating in Welsh and Spanish.
Williams was in Patagonia from October 1968 to early 1969 on a Fellowship awarded by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. The letter was published in David Meredith and John Smith, Obsessed: The Biography of Sir Kyffin Williams (Llandysul, 2012), pp. 134-5.

Williams, Kyffin, 1918-2006

Correspondence,

Letters, 1939-2006, mostly addressed to Kyffin Williams which relate to professional and personal matters. Correspondents include fellow artists, representatives from galleries and institutions, and admirers of his work. A number of letters refer to exhibitions and the publication of books by, or relating to, Kyffin Williams. Letters and cards, 1923-2003, from Kyffin Williams, mainly to members of his family, are included at the end of the sequence. Some items also contain notes and ink sketches by him.

'Misc[ellaneous] letters-natural history'

The file comprises letters and postcards, some of them annotated by Condry, concerning sightings, distribution and identification of birds, mammals, insects and plants, bird photography, persecution of birds of prey, kite protection, birdwatching activities at Bird Rock, published and private wildlife records, especially in connection with West Wales Field Society. Correspondents include E. H. T. Bible, (16) 1945-1954, on birds seen in and around Aberdovey, particularly starlings, swifts and herons, recognition of the need for egg protection and contact with Mary Richards; A. W. Boyd, (1) 1950, on identifying features of the Little Stint; Hugh Chater, (1) 1950, discussing cultivated strawberries, spartina and familiarity with Devon; T. A. W. Davis (1) 1951, in note form, reporting sightings of squirrels, long-tailed tits, mute swans and the breeding status of starlings; Jack [Grasse] (5) [1951], mainly concerning birds seen during visits to Wales and identification of ants; Geoffrey Ingram, a postcard, 1950, on chaffinch migration, acknowledging Bible and Salter, and the updating of a fauna of North Wales; Philip ('Pip') Miles (4), 1952, on insect migration and identification, with printed entomological bulletins and observation sheet; J. H. Owen (12), 1949-53, concerning wildlife books, numerous different birds, especially robins, and wasps, Morrey Salmon, (2), 1950, on eider ducks, and a letter to Salmon 1960, on the ecology of Borth Bog; Irene ('Benjamin') and H. R. H. ('Taff') Vaughan, (4), 1952, mainly regarding red kite protection, butterfly migration and dialect bird names; and Kyffin Williams, (1) 1951, about the sighting of a hoopoe.

Bible, E. H. T. (Edward Henry T.), 1873-1956