Frank Brangwyn

Frank Brangwyn (1867-1956) was born in Belgium to British parents, and received his artistic training in Britain. He worked for William Morris as a young man, and like him explored a wide array of artistic media throughout his career. Though his work includes such diverse categories as glassware, furniture, and pro-British WWI posters, perhaps his best-known works are the murals commissioned by the House of Lords in 1926, later rejected by the peers, and finally acquired for the Guildhall in Swansea, Wales. During his lifetime, he was one of the world's foremost artists. He was the first living artist to receive a retrospective at the Royal Academy in London. While his reputation suffered after his death, his work has been reconsidered in more recent years, and a high-profile exhibition marked the 50th anniversary of his death in 2006.