SIR KYFFIN WILLIAMS, R.A. (BRITISH, 1918-2006)
Hill Farmer (Wil Ifan)
signed with initials 'KW.' (lower right) and numbered '8' (verso)
ink and wash
42 x 29.7 cm. (16 1/2 x 11 3/4 in.)

Provenance
With Thackeray Gallery, London, May 2006, where purchased by
Simon Barnes
Private Collection, from whom acquired by the present owner

Executed in 1991, Sir Kyffin William’s drawing titled, Hill Farmer (Wil Ifan), captures a hill farmer, named ‘Wil Ifan’, William Evans. The work demonstrates the true essence of Williams interest in the Welsch landscape and those that resided within it.

‘Perhaps nothing defines Kyffin Williams as well as his drawings of old Welsh farmers and shepherds…Having grown up walking the mountains with them, it was to these men that the artist owed his intimate knowledge of the landscape and his profound love of it. His portrayals honour their integrity and tenacity, they show his respect.’ (Rian Evan, Kyffin Williams: The Light and The Dark)

This work is no exception, the farmer, despite being named, is an unidentifiable figure who as Williams himself described, ‘is always the man who lived amongst the rocks (…) part of our landscape’. In many such examples of these works on paper, his farmers are often hunched over a hazel stick. Williams himself remarked, ‘The hazel stick is so much a part of the farmer in North Wales (…) Farmers lean on it, use it for balance when crossing a steep hillside and also for sorting out sheep. It is an invaluable piece of equipment’. Clearly noting the significance of the hazel stick and its prominence in his authentic depiction of hill farmers. In this specific work, this quote is perhaps most true, rather than showing Wil Ifan among the landscape, he stands alone and isolated, the hazel stick is placed so close to him, a vital part of his being.