During the first decades of the 18th century almost no artists visited Wales, but by the end of the century they hardly went anywhere else. The majestic mountains, waterfalls and castle ruins of Wales attracted artists from all over Britain, especially to the north, to record the romance and drama of the Welsh landscape.

Richard Wilson was one of London’s leading landscape painters. In 1764 or 1765 he went on a ‘Grand Tour’ of Wales, his homeland, drawing as he travelled. This painting of Dinas Brân castle was commissioned by Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn who had returned from his own Grand Tour in Europe. It is not only rich in Welsh history and myth, but is also presented as a Celtic Mount Olympus.

As a result of David Cox spending his summers in Betws y Coed, the town and surrounding area became home to the first artists' colony in Britain. A large number of the leading artists of the time produced some of their most important works there, depicting the magnificent landscape of the Conwy Valley.

Henry Clarence Whaite was one of the prominent artists associated with the Betws y Coed artist colony, and became a leading figure in Welsh landscape painting. While living near Conwy in the 1870s, Whaite became inspired by Welsh mythology and folklore. This interest influenced many of his paintings, including The Finding of Taliesin, which depicts a scene from the Mabinogion, a collection of Welsh mythological tales.

From the 1920s-60s, some artists returned to the traditional subject of landscape painting. In the same way that artists such as Wilson and Turner had transformed landscape painting by focusing on the sublime power of nature, the neo-Romantics looked to transform landscape painting once again.

David Jones' painting transports us to the tranquil surroundings of Capel y Ffin in the Black Mountains, where the artist was a regular visitor for three years during the 1920s. Neo-romanticism often focused on the spirit of place, or genius loci, and at Capel y Ffin, David Jones endeavoured to engage directly with the landscape and the hidden mythology he sensed within it.

Throughout the centuries, artists have developed unique methods to depict the Welsh landscape, drawing inspiration from its natural, historical, and social features. In contrast to landscapes perceived to be merely serving as scenery, Welsh landscape paintings often depict the intimate relationship between people and their surroundings.

Born in Manchester, Constance Bradshaw moved to Bickley in Kent, but was a regular visitor to Cornwall and Wales. This painting, which depicts a farm within the Welsh landscape, is executed with wide and vigorous brush strokesand impasto technique, where thick layers of paint are applied to the canvas, creating a textured surface, adding depth and dimension.

The focus on rural scenes and scenic views in Welsh landscape art perpetuated stereotypes portraying Wales as charming yet undeveloped. However, by the 18th and 19th centuries, Wales rapidly became one of the most important industrial hubs in the world. Areas of Wales that are now synonymous with the industrial revolution were once praised for their quiet loveliness, but with industry came a new, brutal landscape.

Penry Williams came from a modest family of stone masons in Merthyr Tydfil. Settling in Rome in 1826, Williams painted countless Italian scenes for Grand Tourists. This painting captures the contrast between Wales's natural landscapes and the rapid industrial changes of the time.

The Industrial Revolution in Wales attracted people from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures, creating a thriving society. The landscape of these areas began to change due to these growing communities. The contrast between the harshness of the man-made landscape and the warmth of its communities is apparent in depictions of Welsh industrial landscapes.

Esther Grainger studied at the Cardiff School of Art from 1928 to 1934. During these years she gave craft lessons to women in the mining communities and worked to offer adults learning opportunities in areas of high unemployment. Pontypridd at Night is a vibrant and daring artwork which reflects the essence of the community depicted, capturing its sense of unity and liveliness.

Some refugee artists from the Second World War made Wales their home, and not only became valued members of the community but also made valuable contributions to art in Wales through their practice, teaching and personal influence. Artists who arrive as refugees or visitors unable to return home continue to enrich our culture and help us to consider anew what we consider to be ‘home’.

Karel Lek was born in Antwerp in 1929 but moved to North Wales as refugees during the Second World War. Living on Anglesey, he described finding "freedom" in Wales, with the scenery inspiring his work. Unlike some other refugee artists who worked for a period in Wales, Lek arrived as a child and made Wales truly his home.

Industry has no doubt left its mark on Wales. The land itself is scarred by derelict mines and looming slag heaps, whilst post-industrial communites continue to battle with the societal and economic fallout of pit and quarry closures. Wales' industrial scenery has been depicted by artists in contrasting ways, seen as either disrupting nature or celebrating a distinctive way of life.

Jack Crabtree is an English painter, known for a series of paintings documenting the south Wales coal industry. In 1974-75 Crabtree was commissioned by the National Coal Board to make an artistic record of south Wales’ miners at work. His style has been described as social realism and his vision as affectionate rather than romantic.

Today, many contemporary artists investigate how the Welsh landscape and personal identity connect through abstract art. By stripping away literal imagery, artists convey emotional and psychological connections to the land. Through colour, texture, and composition, artists evoke sensations and memories, inviting viewers to contemplate their own sense of place and belonging in the world.

Mary Lloyd Jones’ work is greatly inspired by locations that bear the scars of human activities such as mining and quarrying. These processes reveal what typically remains concealed beneath the earth's surface. Mary integrates subterranean elements with surface features and weather conditions to create abstract visual representations of these places.