Welsh Journals

Grant and Margaret continued to reside at 17 Richmond Road but because of its elevated position, overlooking the town and cut into the side of a hill, a problem arose with settlement of the house. At the rear of the property a large crack appeared and, although it caused no serious problem, it created some amusement for the Murray family and friends. Grant Murray decided to paint a vine hung with grapes to hide the crack an original way of sorting out the problem! He produced a watercolour of the Welsh Folk Museum at St. Fagans Castle with the village below, which was turned into a colour postcard and he often used paintings for Christmas cards. In 1935 the hustle and bustle of Swansea Market was shown and another card illustrated the old Mumbles Train. He seemed suspicious of success in his own paintings, which led to an unwillingness to show work which he thought was trivial. However, through good discipline he achieved works of unusual freedom of execution, and he was persuaded by friends to show some of his works at the Swansea Art Society's annual exhibitions at the Glynn Vivian. Grant Murray established an outstanding Art School, renowned for its teaching far beyond the Welsh borders, producing a number of outstanding students like Ceri Richards, Alfred Janes, Will Evans, Evan Walters, Kenneth Hancock and Howard Martin, to name but a few. Many of the students went on to make a career in the art world as painters, designers and craft workers, lecturers and art teachers. Swansea gave its students a sound knowledge and understanding of the principles of art, with foundation courses in life drawing, perspective, design and composition along with a grounding in painting techniques, printmaking, sculpture and ceramics. The Art School attracted students from outside Wales, gaining a national reputation as a centre for excellence. It also brought in lecturers, some of whom had already been trained at Swansea, like Dorothy Kirkman the water colourist and embroidery specialist; Helen S. Hennings who was born and educated at Swansea and gained numerous national prizes for her watercolours, becoming Art Mistress at Swansea Art School until her retirement in 1929. She was a regular exhibitor at the Swansea Art Society until she moved to Kent. At Swansea Dorothy Kirkman taught embroidery, fashion drawing and watercolour painting and her work was exhibited at the Royal Academy, Royal Scottish Academy and Birmingham Art Gallery, as well as work shown locally with the Swansea Art Society. Kenneth Hancock the painter and mural decorator who was also trained at Swansea Art School between 1928-1931 was an exhibitor in London and South Wales, and was appointed as a lecturer in art at the University College of Wales in Aberystwyth in 1935. Kenneth was Grant Murray's successor at the Swansea School of Art as Principal. One of Grant Murray's crowning achievements was the retrospective