32086461
THE WELSH RUGBY UNION
OFFICIAL CENTENARY LIMITED EDITION PRINT of 850 WORLD WIDE
WALES v ENGLAND MATCH 17th JANUARY 1981
CARDIFF ARMS PARK
SIGNED BY THE ARTIST ALAN FEARNLEY AND SIGNED BY THE ENTIRE WELSH
RUGBY TEAM
SIZE IMAGE 23" X 17" (85cm X 43cm)
SIZE WITH BORDER 28" X 24.1/2" (71cm X 62cm)
THIS PRINT IS TO BE SOLD UNFRAMED AND POSTED IN A TUBE.
To commemorate one hundred years of Welsh Rugby the Welsh Rugby Union have appointed Quorn Fine Art to produce ‘Cardiff Arms Park’, a Limited Edition of 850 prints, reproduced from the original painting by Alan Fearnley.
It was in October 1880 that a Welsh official approached the Rugby Football Union in London with a view to a fixture against England. The RFU agreed and in February 1881 the first official fixture fulfilled by a Welsh XV was played at Blackheath against England. The result was a bitter disappointment; Wales lost by seven goals, one dropped goal and six tries to nil, the national side’s biggest ever defeat.
Yet out of the ashes of defeat, the seeds of a truly great sporting tradition and of Welsh Rugby Glory emerged. By 1900 the Welsh Team was almost unbeatable, and from 1900 to 1912, the ‘Golden Era of Welsh Rugby’ they won the Triple Crown on six occasions and went through 22 consecutive home fixtures against England, Scotland, Ireland and France and won them all.
This Limited Edition commemorates 100 years of Welsh Rugby, and has been specially authorised by the Welsh Rugby Union.
‘Cardiff Arms Park’ depicts a broad sweep of the world’s most famous rugby ground on the 17th January 1981 – the day in the Centenary Season when Wales beat their oldest rivals, England by a vastly different result to that first match at Blackheath 100 years previously!
Each print is signed in pencil by the entire Welsh Team:-
S.P.Fenwick, J.P.R.Williams, R.A.Ackerman, D.S.Richards, D.Nicholas, W.G.Davis, D.B.Williams, I.Stephens, A.J.Phillips, G.Price, C.E.Davis, G.A.D.Wheel, J.Squire, J.R.Lewis, G.P.Williams.
The team played against England in the Centenary Season, a truly unique occurrence. Your print will be a permanent memento of that anniversary side and its value as a collector’s item is further enhanced by the fact that the original painting is to hang in the Welsh Rugby Union’s offices at Cardiff Arms Park. The prints are also individually signed and numbered in pencil by the artist, Alan Fearnley.
