Artwork
Rheidol Bridge, Aberystwyth, Destroyed
Rheidol Bridge, Aberystwyth, Destroyed is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Anne Vaughan. It dates from 1894 and is held in the collection of the National Library of Wales.
About this work
Overview
Rheidol Bridge, Aberystwyth, Destroyed is an 1886 oil on canvas landscape by the Welsh artist Anne Vaughan. Measuring 29.2 by 39.5 cm, the painting documents the catastrophic collapse of Trefechan Bridge in Aberystwyth following a major flood. The work is held in the National Library of Wales Framed works of art collection, accessioned as PB03491.
Subject & Meaning
A surviving arch rises from the left riverbank, while a partial arch stands on the right near clustered buildings with dark roofs and pale walls.
The painting depicts the ruins of the Trefechan Bridge spanning the River Rheidol. A surviving arch rises from the left riverbank, while a partial arch stands on the right near clustered buildings with dark roofs and pale walls. Jagged masonry and wooden debris are caught in the churning white water below. Low hills stretch beneath a turbulent sky. The absence of human figures emphasizes the raw destructive power of the flood, capturing the moment the river reclaimed the stone crossing and severed the connection between Aberystwyth and Trefechan.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil paint on canvas, the work employs a palette dominated by deep greens, grays, and muted browns, punctuated by touches of white foam. Vaughan applied the paint thickly and expressively, using heavy, visible brushstrokes that sweep across the sky and water to create a rough, textured surface. Light is diffused, breaking through the cloud cover to illuminate the distant hills while the foreground remains in shadow, heightening the dramatic tension of the scene.
History & Provenance
The painting dates to 1886, the same year as the flood it depicts. It entered the National Library of Wales in 1957 as a gift from Miss E. B. Vaughan. The collapse shown in the artwork occurred in the early hours of October 16, 1886, when the swollen River Rheidol overwhelmed the John Nash stone bridge, which had stood since 1800. The structure cracked and fell with a fearful crash, cutting off Trefechan from the rest of Aberystwyth and leaving a yawning gulf of roughly one hundred yards.
Context
Anne Vaughan lived from 1854 to 1931. Her painting serves as a direct visual record of the Great Flood of Aberystwyth, an event that devastated the town. The flood submerged streets under several feet of water, disrupted railway operations, and destroyed the household possessions of working class families in areas like Moor Street and Thespian Street. The destroyed Nash bridge was subsequently replaced by the current Pont Trefechan, designed by Sir James Weeks Szlumper in 1886, restoring the vital route into the town from southern Ceredigion.
Artist & collection
Artist
Anne Vaughan painted quiet scenes of place and time, mostly in Wales. Oil on canvas, their work shows bridges, harbors, and streets where workers and travelers go about their days. This bundle includes Rheidol Bridge,…
