Davies Sisters: The Welsh Spinsters Who Built the UK's Premier French Impressionist Collection
Gwendoline and Margaret Davies, born in Llandinam, Mid Wales, in 1882 and 1884, assembled one of the UK's most significant French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collections. Despite no prior art knowledge, they acquired nearly 300 works by 143 artists, including Manet's Effect of Snow on Petit Montrouge (1870), Monet's San Georgio Maggiore at Dusk (1908–1912), Van Gogh's Landscape at Auvers in the Rain (1890), and Renoir's Young Girl in Blue (1882). Their governess Jane Blakerthey and her brother Hugh fostered their interest in French art. During World War I, they volunteered with the French Red Cross and helped nearly 100 Belgians, including artists Valerius de Saedeleer, Gustave van de Woestyn, and George Minne, resettle in Wales. In 1919, they purchased Gregynog Hall, creating a cultural hub and founding the Gregynog Press. They also supported women's causes, including summer camps and a rest home. Gwendoline died in 1951, Margaret in 1963; their 260 donated works are at the Museum of Wales in Cardiff, and Oriel Davies Gallery in Newtown continues their legacy.
Key facts
- Gwendoline Davies was born in 1882 and Margaret Davies in 1884 in Llandinam, Mid Wales.
- The sisters amassed almost 300 artworks by 143 different artists, including Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Manet, Cézanne, and Van Gogh.
- They purchased Édouard Manet's Effect of Snow on Petit Montrouge (1870), his first acknowledged Impressionist scene.
- Their governess Jane Blakerthey and her brother Hugh encouraged their interest in French Impressionism.
- During World War I, they ran a canteen for French troops with the French Red Cross and helped nearly 100 Belgian refugees, including artists Valerius de Saedeleer, Gustave van de Woestyn, and George Minne.
- In 1919, they bought Gregynog Hall from their brother, establishing a center for arts and founding the Gregynog Press for limited-edition books.
- Gwendoline died in 1951 and Margaret in 1963; in 1967, a Davies Memorial Gallery was built in Newtown, reopening as Oriel Davies Gallery in 2003.
- They donated 260 works to the Museum of Wales in Cardiff, where they remain on view.
Entities
Artists
- Gwendoline Davies
- Margaret Davies
- David Davies
- Edward Davies
- Jane Blakerthey
- Hugh Blakerthey
- Édouard Manet
- Claude Monet
- Vincent van Gogh
- Pierre-Auguste Renoir
- Camille Pissarro
- Paul Cézanne
- Alfred Sisley
- Eugénie Lesouezec
- Valerius de Saedeleer
- Gustave van de Woestyn
- George Minne
- Eugene Carriere
- Robert Maynard
- George Bernard Shaw
- Samuel Courtauld
- Huw Wynstan Jones
- Augustus John
- Botticelli
- Velázquez
- Van Dyck
- Gainsborough
- El Greco
- Turner
- Whistler
- Constable
- Millet
Institutions
- National Museum Cardiff
- Gregynog Hall
- Gregynog Press
- French Red Cross
- Girl Guide movement
- Tate
- Courtauld Institute of Art
- Oriel Davies Gallery
- Museum of Wales
- Davies Memorial Gallery
Locations
- Llandinam
- Mid Wales
- Wales
- UK
- Cardiff
- Newtown
- Rouen
- France
- Aberystwyth
- Petit Montrouge