The LOST WORK note on the Oriel Jonah Jones main page continues to uncover buried treasures as more collectors contact us. Four more have been brought to our attention.
Meirion Edwards’ son Marc wrote to us about a fine watercolour inscription (below) in his father’s collection. In Latin and Welsh, it was probably painted by Jonah during his fellowship at Gregynog in 1981–82 and was bought by Meirion Edwards from the Tegfryn Art Gallery in Menai Bridge. The gallery closed in 2019 after more than half a century.
Two forgotten late-career watercolour sketches in the family’s collection have unexpectedly come to light during a garage clear-out. They are of Bryn Cader Faner and Llandaff Cathedral.
Runcorn Local Historian Stuart Allen messaged us on Facebook to ask if we had a photograph of an early sculpture by Jonah titled The Deposition. He had found a record that the sculpture was made in the distinctive reddish-pink Runcorn sandstone, which was extensively quarried in and around the town from the early 19th century until World War Two, and that it was acquired for a private collection in the USA. A search among Jonah’s few surviving early photo albums (most of them were stolen in a 1976 burglary in Dublin) turned up a small 5 cm x 5 cm black-and-white photograph with the following note: ‘The Deposition, red sandstone, 10 inches, collection Mr Clarence Klein, New York, 1950’. During the 1960s, when Jonah’s career was well established, he sold numerous pieces to American collectors, but this is probably the earliest piece he sold to the USA.
Here is a link to Stuart Allen’s fascinating article on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stuart.allen.3538/posts/pfbid0FdF1MTvbG3YW2VzVxqz5vqehA9dC6Syr9vCPGMuH4s4CQbQqpKP9DKBojgvXQqURl