Press Releases

Television producer and scriptwriter Russell T. Davies and harpist Catrin Finch form the second annual photographic commission at Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, generously sponsored by AXA Art Insurance. These images join portraits of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and author Sarah Waters from the 2005 commission in the national photography collection.

The two successful young photographers, whose work was described as ‘high quality’ and ‘innovative’ by the commissioning panel, worked in striking and iconic settings. Russell T. Davies’s portrait was shot on the Dr Who set while the grand rooms of Tredegar House were the location for Catrin Finch’s portrait.  

The panel selects sitters with a connection to Wales who have excelled in their particular field. The commission was established as a means of supporting emerging photographers and is open to those who have graduated from a Welsh college since 2000. The photographers selected for 2006 are Julie Fogarty, who graduated from University of Wales Newport and Edith Maybin, a graduate of Swansea Institute.

Annabel Fell Clark, Chief Executive of AXA Art, said: “At AXA Art we are delighted to be able to sponsor commissions of such superb quality, not least as these will form part of the Museum's own permanent collection. The artists are both very deserving of being selected for this exciting project, which started just a year ago. This commission builds on the strength of last year and upholds a high standard for the future."

The Head of Fine Art for Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales, Ann Sumner, commented: ‘'We are delighted with the striking images for the second year of the photographic portrait commission. Catrin Finch and Russell T. Davies have been captured by two innovative young photographers who trained in Wales. The photographs are a welcome addition to our collection. Building on the success of the previous commissions we are pleased to be displaying the photographs in the Main Hall at National Museum Cardiff and we expect them to be popular with our visitors. We are grateful to our sponsors AXA Art for their support and our partners the National Portrait Gallery, London.”

The art galleries at National Museum Cardiff are currently being redeveloped and renovated. Some galleries will be closed temporarily while building work is taking place. The Museum remains open to the public throughout the refurbishment, with a diverse programme of exhibitions, displays and events throughout our centenary in 2007. For more details on our centenary, go to our 07 pages. For day-to-day enquiries about the galleries, please call (029) 2039 7951. The refurbishment programme is supported with additional funding by the Welsh Assembly Government.
National Museum Cardiff is one of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales’s seven national museums. The others are St Fagans: National History Museum, the National Roman Legionary Museum, Big Pit: National Coal Museum, the National Wool Museum, the National Slate Museum, and the National Waterfront Museum.

Entry to National Museum Cardiff is free, thanks to the support of the Welsh Assembly Government.

Notes to editors

Commission Panel:

Christopher Coppock, Director of Ffotogallery Cardiff; Terence Pepper, the Curator of Photography at the National Portrait Gallery; Paul Seawright, Professor of Photography at University of Wales College, Newport; James McDowell of AXA Art Insurance; Dr Ann Sumner, Head of Fine Art at Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales; Louisa Briggs, Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art at Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales; and Bryony Dawkes, Curator, Celf Cymru Gyfan – ArtShare Wales.

The photographs:

Catrin Finch (b. 1980)

Harpist Catrin Finch was born in Ceredigion. She began playing the harp at the age of six and joined the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain at the age of ten. Finch won first prize in the junior section of the World Harp Festival in 1991, aged 11, and three years later came second in the adult section. At 16 she joined the Purcell School in London before joining the London Academy two years later. From 2000 to 2004 Finch was Royal Harpist to HRH Prince of Wales, the first time the royal family had accorded such an honour since the reign of Queen Victoria. She has performed all over the world and has received many prestigious awards for her playing. This image was taken when Finch was pregnant with her first child.

Edith Maybin (b.1969)

Edith Maybin was born and grew up in Canada. She graduated from the Photography Masters course at Swansea Institute with first class honours in 2006 and was awarded the title Free Range 06 Photographer of the Year. Maybin says of portraiture "...a picture is just a picture. Can we ever know the vastness of a person with a single photograph?" In her image of Catrin Finch she references historical portraiture but introduces unexpected and surprising elements to challenge the viewer. Maybin says "Catrin approaches her music similarly, she knows our preconceived notions and re-places us into a new interpretation".

Russell T. Davies (b. 1963)

Television producer and scriptwriter Russell T. Davies was born in Swansea. He read English Literature at Oxford University, before joining the BBC in the mid-1980s. He initially trained as a floor manager and production assistant before taking a director’s course in the late 1980s. He has worked for both the BBC and Granada Television, producing programmes such as Why Don’t You? and scripting dramas including Dark Season, Century Falls and Children’s Ward. However, he is best known for writing adult dramas such as Queer as Folk, The Second Coming, Doctor Who and more recently the Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood, based in Cardiff. Davies began adding the 'T' to his name in the late 1980s, to distinguish himself from a radio presenter of the same name, although it does not actually stand for anything!

Julie Fogarty (b. 1977)

Julie Fogarty was born and grew up in Ireland. She graduated from the Documentary Photography course at the University of Wales, Newport in 2006 and her work has appeared in publications such as the contemporary photography magazine Source. Fogarty chose to photograph Davies in the interior of the TARDIS on the set of Doctor Who, however her focus is on Davies’s face and the background is obscured. By creating a triptych of three images presented as one she gives a sense of capturing a fleeting moment.

AXA Art

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