Kyffin's 'thank you' under hammer

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A drawing by Sir Kyffin Williams given as a thank you gift to a farmer who let him wander across his land to sketch the views is going under the hammer.

Farmer Richard Thomas simply put the drawing in his jacket pocket when the Welsh painter handed it to him.

Now the 40-year-old work is expected to be one of the more affordable lots by the artist whose popularity has soared since his death in September 2006.

The sketch is included at an auction in Colwyn Bay, Conwy, later in October.

Kate Humphreys, who now runs a driving school, said Sir Kyffin Williams called at her father's farm one day in the 1960s to ask permission to wander over the land sketching what he saw.

When he had finished, he returned and presented her father with the drawing.

Everyone who has seen it remarks how stunning it is Kate Humphreys, daughter of farmer Richard Thomas

"I was only 13 or 14, but I remember the occasion well," Mrs Humphreys said.

"Kyffin was wearing his flat cap, which was typical of him, and I remember his moustache.

"I was always interested in art and went to art college.

"I remember trying to draw like Kyffin, but of course, I never could.

"His drawings have a minimum of lines and effects to capture a scene but their simplicity belies their beauty.

Interest in the painter's work has spiralled since his death two years ago

"Everyone who has seen it remarks how stunning it is."

The pen and ink wash drawing, which is estimated to fetch around £2,500 in the Welsh Sale at fine art auctioneers Roger Jones, shows a farm at Yr Iard with Talgwyn Isaf in the background.

It is one of 19 works by the Anglesey-based artist in the sale on 18 October, although it is his seven oil paintings that are expected to attract the highest bids.

Among the most valuable is a view of the rocks at South Stack, Holyhead, now an RSPB reserve, which is estimated to fetch between £35,000 to £45,000.

Another oil shows a view in the grounds of the Northampton hospital where he was treated for his epilepsy in 1949.

It will be sold with an accompanying letter explaining that: "Kyffin remembers the picture well and feels it is good work."

The work is estimated to fetch between £14,000 and £18,000.