27 March 2012 Last updated at 07:39

In pictures: Falcon Hildred's industrial age art

Pant yr Ynn Mill, Bethania © Crown copyright: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales: Falcon Hildred Collection

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales is to acquire a collection of over 600 original drawings and watercolours, by Wales-based artist Falcon Hildred, which document life in the industrial age

Pencae, Fuches Wen, Blaenau Ffestinog © Crown copyright: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales: Falcon Hildred Collection

Hildred, who has lived in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, since 1969, has dedicated his working life to recording the buildings and landscapes of 19th and 20th Century

Oakeley slate mine and quarry, Blaenau Ffestiniog © Crown copyright: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales: Falcon Hildred Collection

His work documents a rapidly disappearing way of life in both English and Welsh industrial towns, including Blaenau, Cardiff, Newport and Swansea

The collection has been catalogued, and high-quality digital images will be available online through the Coflein (the Royal Commission's online database), and People's Collection Wales websites

Lord Street in the snow, Blaenau Ffestiniog © Crown copyright: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales: Falcon Hildred Collection

The collection has been acquired with the help of a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) award of £46,700

Market hall and square, Blaenau Ffestiniog © Crown copyright: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales: Falcon Hildred Collection

The Royal Commission, based in Aberystwyth, is working with the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust (IGMT) to safeguard the collection, a digital version of which will be shown at the Royal Welsh Show and the National Eisteddfod in 2013

"Falcon Hildred gives us inspiring new ways of looking at historic buildings and landscapes that readily engage everyone from small children to architects and heritage experts," said Peter Wakelin, secretary of the Royal Commission.

Wales

In pictures: Falcon Hildred's industrial age art

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