Valerie Ganz

Valerie Ganz (1936–2015) was a Welsh artist, known for her paintings of South Wales coal miners.[1]

Life and work

Ganz grew up in Mumbles of Swansea. She studied art in Swansea then worked as a teacher and lecturer.[1] In 1973 she left teaching to concentrate full-time on painting.[2] She developed an interest in the coal mining heritage and industrial landscapes of South Wales, as well as painting prisoners, dancers and nightclubs.[3]

At one point, Ganz set up a home and studio in Six Bells in Blaenau Gwent, where she spent a year creating art at the Six Bells Colliery, as well as the local snooker hall and chapel.[3] During the 1980s she spent several days a week underground at 14 coal mines, sketching the miners at work.[1] Her work was exhibited at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea, in 1986, as part of a show called 'Mining in Art' with other well known painters of mining life.[3]

Ganz also spent a year at the Central School of Ballet where she attended every day to paint and draw the dancers.[3]

She held her last major art exhibition in 2010 at the Attic Gallery in Swansea.[1] She was an elected member of the Royal Cambrian Academy.[4]

Fourteen of Ganz's paintings are held in UK public collections, including the National Coal Mining Museum for England, the National Library of Wales and the National Museum of Wales.[5]

She died suddenly on 28 September 2015 aged 79, after struggling with ill health.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Price, Karen (30 October 2010). "Artist Valerie Ganz explains her obsession with painting". Wales Online. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  2. ^ "Welcome to Valerie Ganz Website". ValerieGanz.co.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d Price, Karen (12 October 2015). "7 stunning paintings which sum up the legacy of artist Valerie Ganz". Wales Online. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  4. ^ "List of Members - G - Valerie Ganz". The Royal Cambrian Academy. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  5. ^ 14 artworks by or after Valerie Ganz, Art UK. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  6. ^ "Tributes paid to acclaimed Swansea artist and miners' friend Valerie Ganz, who has died". South Wales Evening Post. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
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