The Unmistakable Kevin Sinnott (1947-2026)

Few artists have captured the colour, character and spirit of the south Wales valleys quite like Kevin Sinnott. As the next Welsh Sale at Rogers Jones approaches, we reflect on the life, work and enduring legacy of an artist whose vision transformed familiar landscapes into something extraordinary.

"Lovers gaze across and down from the valley slopes at the terraced houses snaking along the winding valleys…Couples cwtch under the low skies. He celebrates love, praise and poetry in the everyday lives of his neighbours, his people."

— PROFESSOR TONY CURTIS, Poet and art historian

KEVIN SINNOTT 'Don't Look Back'

Welsh Sale (Part I), 22nd November 2026

£6,000-10,000

"His iconic figures do not merely occupy; they suspend themselves across hillsides, leap through valley streets, and collide in operatic bursts of colour, passion and movement."

— MYFANWY SHOREY, Celf Gallery, Cardiff

A Vision of the Valleys

Kevin Sinnott’s south Wales valleys are unmistakably his - and unmistakably ours. They are places we all recognise, but they are not the valleys of lore. When one talks of contributions and legacies, this changed perception is crucial.

Those old industrial communities, of coal and choirs, chapel pulpits and carved out pitches, the shades grey and dark, the atmosphere oppressive, become places of colour and vibrancy, of gusting winds and lustful passions, of love and hope, of longing and loneliness. Of people…more than anything people.

If Kevin Sinnott was a painter of Wales, he was also - even more so - a painter of people, and in this his themes were universal. If his ‘cynefin’ - his own hinterland - was as unmistakable as Kyffin’s peaks, his images and the stories they conveyed told of things we can all relate to.

There was often ambiguity - themes and characters were open to interpretation. The passion of an embrace, the tension in a gesture, the attitude conveyed in a pose, meant very different things to different people, but these ordinary encounters, these glimpses of everyday life, saw underlying drama played out in Sinnott’s valleys.

KEVIN SINNOTT 'Strangers'

Welsh Sale (Part I), 22nd November 2026

£3,000-6,000

Finding His Muse

Born in Sarn, near Bridgend, in 1947, Kevin Sinnott was a product of those very valleys. The Ogmore and the Llynfi on the doorstep and the beautifully named Garw a constant. Having studied at Cardiff College of Art and Gloucestershire College of Art and Design, he progressed to the Royal College of Art in London. He subsequently lived and made his reputation in the city, and far beyond, before eventually returning to south Wales during the early ‘90s and finding his true muse, setting up home in Pont-y-rhyl and his studio in Pontycymer.

The artist himself was open in acknowledging his love for - and his debt to - those valleys and hillsides, and the communities that welcomed his return, explaining that: “The inspiration which I have gratefully, if not always humbly, received from my immediate environment, has sometimes seemed like a reward for coming home.”

Ben Rogers Jones always delighted in seeing Kevin himself - on his regular visits to the company’s Cardiff auction house - and is continuously impressed by his work.

''When on my home visits, spotting a Kevin Sinnott painting on a client’s wall is always a thrill. They gleam with a distinct presence, often serving as the very first piece to stop me in my tracks. To me, a Sinnott piece instantly signals that I am visiting a home with a Welsh art collection of exceptional quality.
His vibrant palette and dynamic compositions are as exhilarating as any work by a Welsh artist. His ‘kitchen sink’ narratives and keen eye for modern valleys life resonate profoundly. Yet, beyond his immense talent, Kevin was a remarkably kind, humble, and gentle soul...and that inherent softness and deep empathy for his valley communities - his own people - shines through in his paintings.”

KEVIN SINNOTT 'Pebble Beach'

Welsh Sale (Part I), 22nd November 2026

£6,000-8,000

A Familiar Image of Wales

Professor Tony Curtis was a friend as well as an admirer, and continued to visit the artist right up until the end. In the days following Kevin Sinnott’s death, Curtis wrote a moving tribute and placed him among the modern Welsh greats.

"When one is committed to and immersed in contemporary art it is easy to forget that most people are not. Furthermore, many people find contemporary art intimidating. Probably the only artist from Wales that many people have heard of is Sir Kyffin Williams; their jaws drop at the prices realised for Kyffins in auction and his work reinforces their need to locate themselves in a rugged, rural Wales which probably no longer exists for them.
But the only single painting that is widely recognised is Kevin’s Running Away with the Hairdresser. It is nearly always on show in the National Museum in Cardiff and has been reproduced on cards and posters…His version of the Valleys communities fulfils a similar role to that of Kyffin Williams and Peter Prendergast in north Wales. Each artist captures the essence of what remains as our shared identity through memory."

Sinnott himself rather self-depreciatingly noted of Running Away with the Hairdresser that it was "a momentary slip into fecklessness... mature scepticism towards youth's arrogance". And yet his 1995 masterpiece captured something we all recognise - and possibly yearn for - a chance at freedom, escape, a life lived in the moment. It has become one of the defining images of modern Welsh art.

The Dance Goes On

Over a quarter of a century ago, Myfanwy Shorey started working on her first exhibition for the Martin Tinney Gallery in Cardiff. That exhibition was of Kevin Sinnott’s work. The relationship lasted and flourished over the decades and it was perhaps fitting that September’s exhibition at Myfanwy’s own Celf Gallery, originally conceived as a showcase for his talent, became, in the aftermath of his passing, a tribute and celebration of Kevin Sinnott’s life and work.

In Myfanwy’s own words, that exhibition, the aptly titled Last Dance on the Hills – Dawns Olaf ar y Bryniau, captured much of what made him special, and encapsulated his relationship with his homeland.

"The hills of south Wales never really released Kevin Sinnott, their presence and character pressing against his earlier memories. A body of work emerged, embroiled in the powerful symbolic and romantic imagery of these communities, their history, and his own...Never one to shy away from grand, passionate, emotional themes, these final paintings feel both deeply personal and profoundly generous…bringing full circle a remarkable creative journey from the Garw valley to London and back again."

It’s a sentiment echoed by Tony Curtis, who relished the autobiographical nature of Kevin Sinnott’s best work and the sense of fulfilment generated by that homecoming odyssey.

"His return to south Wales gave him renewed energy and what, perhaps, was always going to be his true subject. Lovers gaze across and down from the valley slopes at the terraced houses snaking along the winding valleys. There is a rugby pitch; clothes lines are hung with clean sheets and clothes. Balls are kicked into the sky, dogs run free. Couples cwtch under the low skies. He celebrates love, praise and poetry in the everyday lives of his neighbours, his people. That’s a legacy many of us would wish to aspire to."

KEVIN SINNOTT 'Study of a Muse'

Welsh Sale (Part I), 22nd November 2026

£1,000-1,500

So, the importance of Kevin Sinnott’s work is as unmistakable as its setting. His re-interpretation of those beloved valleys not only showcased Wales to new audiences, but made us appreciate our own surroundings in fresher, lighter, more confident ways.

In saying her own farewell and reflecting on his lasting contribution, Myfanwy Shorey’s thoughts echo those of so many:

“Kevin leaves behind an extraordinary artistic legacy. His paintings will continue to speak of love, memory, place and the enduring spirit of Wales - its valleys especially - for generations to come…The storytelling continues, the passion remains, and the dance on the hills goes on.”

KEVIN SINNOT 'The Artist'

Welsh Sale (Part I), 22nd November 2026

£1,500-2,500