Artwork
Plas-yn-Brithdir, Dolgelly, Merionethshire
Plas-yn-Brithdir, Dolgelly, Merionethshire is a watercolor work on paper by Mildred E. Eldridge. It dates from 1941 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
Plas-yn-Brithdir, Dolgelly, Merionethshire is a 1941 watercolour by Mildred E. Eldridge, depicting a traditional stone cottage in Dolgellau, Merionethshire, set against a backdrop of rising mountains.
Subject & Meaning
The artwork documents a quintessential Welsh cottage scene, emphasizing the preservation of Britain's architectural and natural heritage amidst wartime and societal changes, as part of the Recording Britain project.
Technique & Style
Eldridge employed soft, muted colours and loose brushstrokes to convey the serene atmosphere of the location, capturing the humble details of the cottage, including its sloped roof, small chimneys, and shuttered windows.
History & Provenance
Commissioned under the Recording Britain project (1940-1946), led by Sir Kenneth Clark and funded by the Pilgrim Trust, the work was created to record nationally significant sites threatened by the Second World War.
Context
Part of a broader effort to visually document vanishing aspects of British rural life and landscape during a period of industrialization and war, alongside other artists involved in the project.
Artist & collection
Artist
Mildred E. Eldridge painted the hills and barns of 1940s Wales in watercolours. She left us five small scenes of rural life, each titled by the place it shows: a stone barn in Llanrhaeadr, peat cutters near Cefn Coch,…
