#welsh painter

Albert de Belleroche (Welsh, 1864-1944), The Dining Room of John Singer Sargent, c. 1884, oil on canvas.

About the Artist: Gwendolen Gwen Mary John was a Welsh artist who worked in France for most of her career. Her paintings, mainly portraits of anonymous female sitters, are rendered in a range of closely related tones. Although in her lifetime, John's work was overshadowed by that of her brother Augustus and her mentor and lover Auguste Rodin, awareness and esteem for John's artistic contributions has grown considerably since her death.

Flora MacDonald (1722-1790), was a young woman from the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. Here, in 1746, she met Prince Charles Edward Stuart, fleeing following his defeat at the Battle of Culloden. She disguised him as a maidservant, 'Bettie Burke', and helped him to escape by boat to the Isle of Skye. Flora was imprisoned for a time in London, and her bravery made her a celebrity. Her portrait was painted, she was the subject of poetry and she met Frederick, Prince of Wales. She later spent five years living in North Carolina, in the United States, where her husband fought on the British side in the American Wars of Independence.

Collection: Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, United States

c. 1904-1908

In his poem 'Metamorphoses', the Roman poet Ovid retold the story of Phaeton, who petitioned his father Apollo, the Sun God, to let him drive his chariot across the sky for one day. As Apollo feared, Phaeton was unable to control the chariot, and in order to save the world Jupiter was forced to destroy him with a thunderbolt.

Albano is a volcanic lake that sits below Castel Gandolfo, once believed to be the birthplace of Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome.

By Christopher Williams