Oriel Mon opened in 1991, and its art collection has grown steadily over the years.

Grant funding has allowed us to purchase some paintings, but the collection has grown mostly due to donations, and since my time here I’ve had the privilege of working with many generous individuals, who have kindly gifted fantastic artworks to the collection.

This generosity has not slowed, and since 2020 we’ve received a fantastic number of new additions. A highlight for me includes the Leonard McComb collection, kindly donated by the late artist’s sister, Anne Draycott. It was made up of 19 artworks - a collection of paintings in oil and works on paper all having been made on Ynys Môn. It was the basis for an exciting exhibition of the artists’ work, held recently in Oriel Kyffin Williams. Anne was also kind enough to help us frame some of the paintings, in a style like that used by her late brother.

We have also received single donations which complement other works in the collection. These include a painting of an Australian glider squirrel by Charles Tunnicliffe, kindly donated by Rees Roberts. We believe the study was done as research by the artist into an unpublished Brooke Bond tea card book based upon Australian wildlife.

During the early summer, we were bequeathed an oil painting by the late John Ricks, which he made when a student in the 1950s at Highgate School, London, under the tuition of Kyffin Williams. This work was made extra special by the fact that Kyffin had given the young pupil an old canvas to paint on, which happened to have a sheepdog oil painting on its reverse. We are planning to frame the canvas and display it, with both sides showing, in a major Kyffin exhibition in early 2026.

In 2024 we received a substantial collection of historical topographical prints of the island from Mair Lees and her late husband George. They’ve now been catalogued and conserved, and a large selection are currently on show in our temporary exhibition Anglesey and the Topographical Tradition which runs until 01/03/26.

Recently we have received an oil self-portrait by Ed Povey, donated by Elizabeth Llanddwyn Jones, and a patchwork artwork by Edrica Huws, donated by her daughter, Catharine Huws Nagashima. Both are on show in our current exhibition O’r Casgliad which runs until 25/01/26.

We are grateful to everyone who has donated artwork and artefacts to Oriel Môn. They help enrich our collections and allow us to create exciting and ever-changing exhibition programmes.