Coal Mining - Archie Rhys Griffiths
Theme : Art and Culture

Archie Rhys Griffiths (1902 - 1971) was born in Aberdare but brought up in Gorseinon on the outskirts of Swansea. He worked in the Mountain Colliery and the tinplate works at Gorseinon before attending Swansea School of Art (1919 - 1924) and the Royal College of Art (1924 - 1927). This pencil and ink wash drawing depicts a cross-section through the underground chambers of a coal mine, depicting the tragedy unfolding there as being inextricably linked to the church on the hill via an almost venous network (of tunnels then hedgerows) which pass through the mine workings at the heart of the community. This 'cross-section' technique was adopted again by Griffiths for the mural he produced at the Workingmen's College in Camden Town (1932).

This Item is located at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in the Permanent Collection