I recently bought this print in Cardigan Antique Centre; reasonably priced for a print and cheap for an oil. Particularly so as I had a hunch that it could be by Katie Chapman who I had known in the 1980′s when she ran a vintage textiles shop in Aberaeron. She was married to celebrated painter of the valleys George Chapman who was,  I’d guess, after Sir Geraint Evans, about the most famous person in Ceredigion. I thought a painting by her, especially a local subject would provide some interest and maybe even some profit.

And so to home and confirmation that it was print; a shame but a pleasing image anyway.

All that was left to do was to confirm it was by Katie.

That’s when I discovered that George Chapman dropped the ‘Kenneth’ when he worked on prints. I had a George Chapman after all.

Most of what I know now is thanks to Nicholas Chapman, George’s son, who runs the George Chapman website. He tells me that the image is one from a series commisioned by the Post Office in the sixties or early seventies and he can remember his father starting work on the commission.

It would be good to find more of these prints particularly with Welsh subjects. As Nicholas pointed out the paintings are probably out there too, perhaps in a Post office store or perhaps at the original printers. Who knows? Let me know if you find one!

Nicholas is planning an exhibition of his own work, Elements in Nature, in Cardigan at the end of the summer 2010.