National Treasures

Canaletto's painting The Stonemason’s Yard, returned to Wales in the exhibition ‘Idyll and Industry’, the country it sought refuge in during the Second World War.

In 1938, with financial support from the British Museum, the Library excavated an outcrop of land close to the building and constructed a chamber — known locally as the 'cave' — in which to house treasures.

The National Gallery was also eager to have a safe haven for its paintings and were given a large area in the Library building for storage. Part of the National Gallery Collection remained in Aberystwyth for two years before being moved to slate quarry caverns in Manod, North Wales in September 1941 — including Canaletto’s ‘The Stonemason’s Yard’.

The exhibition also explored two of the themes in Canaletto’s painting – industrial and idyllic landscapes with a focus on Welsh topography and life. The National Library of Wales presented Welsh landscapes from the National Art Collection, including works by Turner, Kyffin Williams, Richard Wilson, Jonas Plosky, Valerie Ganz and Penry Williams.

The National Library of Wales commissioned photographer Jon Pountney to run an outreach project investigating the slate mines, while Kim James Williams and the National Library of Wales education service developed the themes of the exhibition through in-Library workshops.