Joanna Trollope article in the London Evening Standard.

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Telegraph.co.uk article.
Ryan Giggs portrait to be hung in National Library of Wales

Dr Paul Joyner, Head of Art Acquisitions, with Ryan Giggs portrait Photo: WALES NEWS SERVICE

The Library spent £10,000 to buy the painting of Giggs, which will be placed at its Aberystwyth headquarters.

Giggs has played 63 times for his country and scored 12 goals.

The 35-year-old posed for three sittings for the painting by artist Peter Edwards 10 years ago but it was only completed last year.

His portrait joins NHS founder Aneurin Bevan, poet Dylan Thomas and former rugby star Barry John and is expected to go on show next month.

Library spokesman Paul Joyner said: "Ryan is an example of one of our great Welshmen and it is a lovely portrait.

"The painting shows him as a slightly shy but very determined and deep person."

Mr Edwards, based in Oswestry, Shropshire, has also painted England World Cup hero Sir Bobby Charlton, the portrait now hanging in the National Portrait Gallery in London.

He said: "Ryan was very down-to-earth and quietly spoken but very friendly.

"You sometimes worry that you are going to be disappointed when you meet a famous person but I thought he was a very nice young man."

The National Library is now keen to add further to its collection of portraits of sportsmen and women.

Olympic gold medal cyclist Nicola Cooke and boxing champion Joe Calzaghe are on the top of their list.

Mr Joyner said: "I'm really keen to get a portrait of Nicole Cooke on her bike and one of Joe Calzaghe as I think he's a great ambassador of Wales."

Article from www.telegraph.co.uk (Click here to view).

The National Library of Wales has recently bought a portrait of the Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs, by the artist Peter Edwards.

Giggs is one of Manchester United’s longest established players, having turned professional at United in November 1990, and has won 20 major trophies and awards with the club. Giggs also captained Wales, winning 64 caps for his country.

The portrait was painted in 2007 and shows Giggs the man rather than Giggs the footballer. Peter Edwards, the artist believes that the portrait shows a person with a lot of personal determination and special charisma.

Edwards is also famous for his portraits of another Manchester United icon Sir Bobby Charlton (The National Portrait Gallery), who sat for him in 1990 and the poet Seamus Heaney (National Portrait gallery).

On Oct 3rd 2005 Bonhams held an Auction in thier New Bond street showrooms of the Roy Davids collection. Peter Edwards' head study for the large portrait in the NPG of Seamus Heaney (www.npg.org.uk) was used as the catalogue cover. It had a a sale estimate of £8,000.00 to £10,000.00. It sold for £13,800.00

Painted in Sir Christopher's home in Woodstock over the winter of 2006/07. Unveiled in the Zeeman Building, Mathematics Institute, Warwick University, April 2007. Sir Christopher is one of the leading international figures in post-war mathematics and education.

Sir Christopher Zeeman FRS. Oil on Canvas, 2007 Warwick University Collection.

Painted in the Artists London studio on the Kings Road, Chelsea. Completed July 2007. John is a Poet, fly-fisherman and former UK Ambassador to the UN in New York. His brilliant first collection of poems "Chasing the Hoopoe" is published by Peterloo Poets.

Sir John Weston. Oil on Canvas, 2007. Private Collection

An interview with Peter Edwards.

You can read the interview below.

Peter, your portrait of poet Wendy Cope features on the leaflet for the MOMA Festival, which runs from 19-26 August at MOMA, Y Tabernacl in Machynlleth, is any of your work on display there?

"The Wendy Cope is on display now until September, I'm not sure of the exact finish date. Nothing else of mine is showing, unless the portraits of Ruth Lambert or Sir Kyffin Williams, both in the permanent collection, are on display. You would have to ring them to find out."

On the poetry theme, I've also seen your work on a poster for an event called 40-Love, a tour in October to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the publication of the groundbreaking 1967 collection The Mersey Sound, an anthology of contemporary poetry from Merseyside.

"Yes, Roger McGough and Brian Patten are on a tour celebrating 40 years since The Mersey Sound was published. My large portrait of the original three, with the late Adrian Henri, which is part of the permanent collection at the National Portrait Gallery, is being used on the flyers and the posters to promote the events. Adrian Henri, was a friend and an important figure in my work."

What have you been working on recently?

"On Thursday 26th July a dinner was given at Magdalen College Oxford in honour of Ahmed Zewail, Nobel winning scientist from Egypt, based in Caltech California. I sat on High Table the other side of the President, David Clary and his wife Heather, from Ahmed to whom I was not allowed to speak until after the speeches when he was presented with a charcoal portrait of him by me, funded by a Dutch science journal. During the meal my studies of Seamus Heaney and Erwin Schodinger were on prominent display and I realised my effort to get to Oxford through the floods was worth it as the President built his speech around the history of Magdalen (pronounced Maudlin) and latterly how they came to acquire the two Edwards' on display, teasing the audience as to the object under the cloth on the third easel! The unveiling was agreat success and Zewail suggested I travel to his home in Egypt to paint him there.

In my new London Studio I have finished my first portrait there of Sir John Weston, poet, diplomat, patron of the Arts . . . and fly-fisherman, he also retired this summer as Chair of Governors of Sherbourne School."

This bbc programme first broadcast September 24th is a good introduction to the The 60's poetry scene and in particular Adrian Henri, who was an friend and important figure in my work.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/adventuresinpoetry/pip/o33nx/

Study for Liverpool Poets 1983. Collection of Bel Mooney.

The Liverpool Poets. Collection National Portrait Gallery.

Peter attended the funeral service of Thanksgiving for the life and work of Sir Kyffin Williams RA on Monday the 11th September, 2006, at 11am in Bangor Cathedral. It was a beautiful late summer's morning. He made the tip by train from Gobowen catching the Cardiff - Holyhead train meeting up with Steve Brake, Denbighshire's Fine Arts Officer at Wrexham station. There was an introduction by the Archbishop of Wales, "Ave verum Corpus" by Mozart was sung by the Choir, followed by a tribute by Professor Derec Llwyd Morgan who Peter painted in 2004 for Aberystwyth University. The Marquess of Anglesey read 1 Corinthians 13, and Bryn Terfel sang "My Little Welsh Home" accompanied on the harp by Elinor Bennett.

Sir Kyffin Williams in his studio June 2003. Collection MoMA Wales.

Peter and Kyffin photographed outside Kyffin's studio overlooking the Menai Straits after the last sitting on the portrait taken by Robert Edwards.

Peter had lunch with Sir Bobby and Lady Charlton in the Board Room at Old Trafford before the 1.30 lunchtime kick off against Fulham on August 20th. Peter was commissioned by The National Portrait Gallery, London, to paint Sir Bobby Charlton in 1990. The commission sponsored by British Gas was the first painting of a footballer in the gallery's history. It was unveiled on the 30th July 1991 by Bobby Moore.

Sir Bobby Charlton Limited Edition Print

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Daily Telegraph 19.6.06

Portrait of Mrs Megan Wood. This was a recently completed private commission. The painting is in a private collection in London.

Peter Edwards speaks of his experience as an artist with portraits in both the National Portrait Gallery and National Museums and Galleries of Wales collections.

The Talk will take place on the Friday 27th of January 2006 at 12:30

Talk at Bodelwyddan Castle with details of the painting "portrait of Tyrone O'Sullivan" which is in the National Museums and Galleries of Wales Collection on Cardiff.

Birmingham University Show - Portraits of Poets

3 October 2005 – 9 January 2006

The Rotunda, Aston Webb Building

University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham

Opening hours: Monday – Friday, 9 am – 5 pm.

Admission Free

Contact: University of Birmingham Collections 0121 414 6750

Dr James Hamilton, University Curator at the University of Birmingham has written a piece on Peter Edwards. You can read it in the Articles Section of this website.

Peter Edwards's portrait of Marguerite Kelsey, a famous inter-wars years artist's model will be exhibited in the exhibition "OUT OF THE TOP DRAWER" at MOMA WALES:
7 November - 4 March

See link below the momawales website for more details. There is a statement about this painting written for the exhibition in the articles section.

www.momwales.org.uk

This is the entry form for the Wales Portrait Award, which has a detail from the painting "Girl on a bridge, Llangollen" by Peter Edwards. Collection Clwyd Fine Arts Trust. This is a new Biennale competition to encourage Welsh portraiture. Entries are invited from artists of any age working or born in Wales or depicting a Welsh subject. Peter will be one of the four judges.

For application forms, download from www.walesportraitaward.org

Peter has agreed to have a show of work in Birmingham University, in September. This follows on from his portrait of former pro chancellor Roger Burman. details to follow.

On the evening of Tuesday 10 May 2005 Peter unveiled His portrait of The Great 20th Century Gaelic Poet Sorley Maclean in an evening of Gaelic poetry, song, and bagpipe music. This marked the handover of the painting into the ownership of The Sorley Maclean Trust (Urras Shomhairle) and its presentation to the Gaelic College on Skye (Sabhal Mòr Ostaig). The painting was originally part of The Contemporary Poets exhibition at the N.P.G. London.

The Sir Peter Middleton was unveiled on December 9th at the Tate.