Welsh Industrial Scene, Artist’S Proof Colour Etching By John Brunsdon C.1970

A striking artist’s proof colour etching and aquatint by distinguished British printmaker John Brunsdon (1933–2014), depicting the monumental industrial landscape of the South Wales valleys.

Across a succession of rounded spoil heaps and dark, folded hills, an industrial complex emerges beneath a copper-coloured sky. Chimneys and cooling towers release great plumes of white vapour, echoed by the sweeping cloud formations above.

Brunsdon’s restrained palette of charcoal, umber, olive and pale terracotta lends the scene an atmospheric, almost otherworldly quality, while his simplified forms transform the working landscape into a powerful study of industry, geography and human intervention.

Titled Welsh Industrial Scene in pencil to the lower left, numbered Artist’s Proof 1/5 to the centre and hand-signed John Brunsdon to the lower right. The principal edition comprised 150 impressions; this example belongs to a separate group of only five artist’s proofs and is numbered first within that small group.

About the artist:

John Brunsdon studied printmaking at the Royal College of Art under Julian Trevelyan and later became Head of Printmaking at St Albans School of Art. A founder member of the Printmakers Council, he became renowned for his technically accomplished colour etchings exploring the relationship between landscape, architecture and industry. His work is held in numerous major public collections, including Tate, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Council, the Government Art Collection and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

A particularly compelling example of post-war British printmaking and an evocative record of the Welsh industrial landscape. Its graphic composition and beautifully subdued colouring would work especially well within a modernist, Brutalist or industrially influenced interior.