Esther Grainger (1912 - 1990) 

Esther Grainger, a Welsh painter and embroiderer, was known for her intricate artwork and ability to capture atmospheres through her art. 

Born in Cardiff in 1912, she studied at the Cardiff School of Art from 1928 to 1934 and taught local women during her time there (Green, 2016). In 1934, she became an arts and craft teacher in Pontypridd, where she worked to promote the practice and exhibition of art until 1946 (Green, 2016).   

During her time in Pontypridd, she met Cedric Morris, with whom she formed a close friendship, and regularly visited his art school in East Anglia in the summers (Powell, 1955). She later introduced the painter Heinz Koppel, a Jewish refugee, to Morris, who arranged for him to teach in Dowlais (Green, 2016). 

At the end of the Second World War, Grainger, Morris and Arthur Giardelli (another of the Pontypridd settlement artists) established a Federation of Welsh Music and Art Clubs to consolidate the dispersed voluntary cultural activity, with Grainger becoming its secretary (Green, 2016). Later she co-organised art exhibitions at the National Eisteddfod in 1950, providing a platform for several other female artists to showcase their work (Green, 2016). That same year she held her first solo exhibition at Newport Museum and Art Gallery (Spalding & Collins, 1990: 212). 

Grainger went on to teach at a girls' grammar school in Caerphilly and later at Cardiff College of Education (Green, 2016). In February 1977, Grainger, who was 65 at the time, took Morris, 87, on holiday to Bilbao (Woodward, 2021). On 15 March, they journeyed home, remarking that a "noisy awful café" and the surrounding hills reminded them of the Welsh valleys they had first met (Woodward, 2021). 

She continued to paint, embroider, and exhibit. She was joined by a new generation of Valleys painters, including Glyn Morgan, Ernest Zobole, and Charles Burton, who belonged to a loose grouping known as the Rhondda Group (Green, 2016). Esther Grainger died peacefully at her home on 21 December 1990 and was later cremated at Thornhill Crematorium (Grainger, 1990: 2). One newspaper summed up her legacy perfectly, which declared, 'The story of the post-war artistic awakening of South Wales is also the story of Esther Grainger, of Cardiff' (Powell, 1955). Her works are in prestigious institutions such as The National Library of Wales, Cyfarthfa Castle, Merthyr Tydfil Museum & Art Gallery and the University of South Wales. 

References: 

Green, A. (2016) "Esther Grainger," Gwallter, 3 September. Available at: https://gwallter.com/art/esther-grainger.html. 

Powell, G. (1955) "Exhibition mirrors new interest in art," Western Mail, 25 November, pp. 7–7. 

South Wales Echo (1990) "Grainger," 24 December, pp. 2–2. 

Spalding, F. and Collins, J. (1990) The dictionary of British 20th-century painters, sculptors and other artists. Woodbridge: Antique Collectors Club. 

Woodward, C. (2021) Cedric Morris' Winter Journeys, Garden Museum. Garden Museum. Available at: https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/cedric-morris-travels/ (Accessed: 6 April 2023). 

Written by Daniel Shepard