Portraits of Famous Welsh Writers: R. S. Thomas

The art historian, Peter Lord, refers to the custom among the Victorian and Edwardian Welsh of decorating their homes with portraits of the hoelion mawr: literally, the ‘big nails’ of the Nonconformist movement whose preaching had earned them a kind of celebrity status. This series considers seminal portraits and photographs of some of the greatest Welsh writers of the Twentieth Century.

Taken when he is at the height of his fame, yet living the life of a country priest in Abersoch, Penllŷn, this seminal photograph captures R. S. Thomas in a pensive mood.

Giant Tube Worm, Riftia pachyptila by Nicolas Gayet | Image Source

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