Initial Research

DISSERTATON TUTORIAL WITH NICK DODDS 7/9/21 ​

I have managed to narrow down my research area and have decided to focus upon the painting Salem by Curnow Vosper as it ties into my initial idea of wanting to explore Welsh identity and culture. This painting is arguably Wales' most iconic painting and is a well known image throughout the UK.

Salem - Syndey Curnow Vosper

The influence and iconic status of the painting Salem by Sydney Curnow Vosper in Wales and its embodiment of Welsh identity.  (Title is a work in progress!!) 
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• Initial analysis of the painting- local characters, traditional Welsh dress, depiction of Nonconformist Wales. 

• Exploring its hidden meanings and interpretations 

• How the image inspired the Welsh arts/ creative industry (particularly Endaf Emlyn’s 1974 album Salem)  

• How it became an iconic image in Britain  
   

BOOKS OF INTEREST: (Ar gael trw Llyfrgelloedd Gogledd Cymru) 

• Salem: Y Llun a’r Llan gan Tal Williams (copi yn storfa llyfrgell Llangefni, ILL cais efo’r prifysgol?)  

• Curnow Vosper: His Life and Works by Jolyon Goodman (copis Mon & Gwynedd, ILL cais trwy’r Prifysgol?)  

• The Welsh Academy encyclopedia of Wales by John Davies 

• The A-Z of curious Wales : strange stories of mysteries, crimes and eccentrics by Mark Rees 

• Book of Wales: An Anthology by Meic Stephens  

• Illuminations: an anthology of Welsh short prose by Meic Stephens  

• British watercolours and drawings : Lord Leverhulme's collection in the Lady Lever Art Gallery by Jessica Feather  

• Gwenllian: essays on visual culture by Peter Lord  

• Mysterious Wales by Chris Barber  

 
DVD (ar gael trw catalogue Llyfrgelloedd Gogledd Cymru)   
 

• Salem : disgrifiad o ddarlun enwocaf Cymru gan Curnow Vosper. (Wrexham & storfa Wrexham) 

• Salem : the story of the most famous of Welsh paintings by Sydney Curnow Vosper. (Stock resources center, possibly not available for loan, will check with Kevin TALNET)  

 
ARTICLES/WEBSITES OF INTEREST  

• http://daibach-welldigger.blogspot.com/2011/12/significance-of-sidney-curnow-vospers.html 

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_(Vosper_painting) 

• https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1072&context=theses 

• https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=IE_vCQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT2&dq=salem+sydney+vosper+&ots=9VZJwy2fpR&sig=UfziWN88wc6ZHdePqLRMQZOf9co&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=salem%20sydney%20vosper&f=false 

• https://blog.library.wales/2019/12/ 

• https://blog.library.wales/salem-a-symbol-of-welsh-identity/ 

• https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/nostalgia/heres-how-see-devil-shawl-11862830 

• https://welshgiftshop.com/blogs/welsh-gift-shop/see-the-devil-in-the-welsh-ladys-shawl-salem-painting 

• https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/08/01/salem-vosper/ 

• https://www.welshholidaycottages.com/salem-vosper/ 

• https://lsmll.journals.umcs.pl/lsmll/article/view/10671/7858 

• https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-painting-salem-a-symbol-of-welsh-identity/MgICibzeuT9aLw 
• https://www.aberconwy-house.co.uk/welsh-national-costume-origins-painting-part-1/​

My face when thinking about the dissertation

Useful Clips

Info from books 

The Last of the Celts- Marcus Tanner

Women, Identity and Religion in Wales - Manon Ceridwen James

Artist- Sydney Curnow Vosper 

Vosper was born in Stonehouse, Plymouth, in 1866 to Samuel, a brewer, and Eleanor Vosper. He attended a school in Somerset and Plymouth collage. Following this he spent three years as an architect's apprentice before beginning his artistic career as an illustrator in London.

A turning point in Vosper's work occurred when he married Constance James, the daughter of Frank T. James, a solicitor and former mayor of Merthyr Tydfil. This connection to Wales would change his output, and in his later career his paintings would be heavily influenced by Welsh culture and life.

Further Analysis of the Painting 

• Salem is famous because if you look at it in a certain way the devil is depicted within the shawl. You can see a horn, eye, forehead, nose, mouth and beard.  
• It was painted in 1908 by the English painter Sydney Curnow Vosper. It depicts a scene in Capel Salem, in Pentre Gwynfryn in Gwynedd. 
• in the late nineteenth century, Salem symbolised for many Welsh people the imagined pious rural traditions of their forbears 
• It has become a Welsh icon. It is noteworthy because of its depiction of Welsh piety - at a time when the chapel was at the heart of Welsh life - and traditional Welsh costume. However, it has also gained a certain notoriety, mystique and even menace because of the belief that the devil is depicted in it. 

 
Who is depicted in Salem? 
 
The central character is modelled by Siân Owen. She is shown walking down the aisle towards her family pew. 
 
Siân Owen was a real person. At the time of painting she was 71 and lived on an isolated farmhouse. She was a widow having lost her husband George in the 1880s. They had one son, William, and Siân raised both William's sons in her tiny cottage. Her grandsons were killed in World War One. Siân died in 1927 and is buried in Llanfair churchyard, near Harlech. 
 
Who are the other characters? 

Nearly all were modeled from life. Beneath the clock is Robert Williams , Deacon of Salem. Beside him, according to National Museums Liverpool, is Laura Williams of Ty'n-y-Buarth, Llanfair. With his back against the wall is Owen Jones, commonly called Owen Siôn. The figure to his right was not modeled from life. The small boy is Evan Edward Lloyd and by his side is Mary Rowland . On the extreme right with his head bowed, is William Jones , brother of Owen Siôn. Vosper reportedly paid them each sixpence (2.5p) an hour for sitting. 
 
What do people think it means? 

At first glance, this appears to be a painting capturing both traditional Welsh dress and the pious atmosphere of a Welsh chapel, but other details have given it another layer of meaning - and contributed to its fame. The face in the shawl is certainly the most famous of these 'hidden' details.  However, the clock could also suggest a deeper meaning. The time, a few minutes before ten, indicates Siân has arrived late, during the customary silence just before the morning service begins. Her bright shawl is in contrast to the somber dress of the other people present. So it has been suggested the painting is a comment on the sin of vanity. Did she arrive late on purpose to ensure the maximum audience for her entrance? 
 
The presence of the devil in the folds of the shawl might be another element to this interpretation.