Tenby artist Gwen John’s influence will be explored in a new programme which is screened tonight (Thursday, February 5) - to coincide with the 150th anniversary of her birth.

She was a muse of Rodin and an inspiration to the Manic Street Preachers, but Gwen John - revered as Wales's greatest female artist - is a mystery to many.

Born in Haverfordwest, Gwen left Tenby as a young girl against her father's wishes.

She travelled to Paris to be an artist and to live independently - so it's fair to say that Gwen John was a bold and daring lady at the end of the 19th Century.

Radio One DJ and Gwen John super fan Sian Eleri travels from the wild west Wales coast to London and Paris to try and unravel the enigma of this amazing woman on the 150th anniversary of her birth in the programme Keep the World Away - Finding Gwen John which will be broadcast on BBC2 at 9pm.

With the help of experts at the National Museum of Wales, biographers Alicia Foster and Judith Mackerell, and guided by six key paintings, Sian attempts to reveal the woman behind the work.

Meanwhile, Nicky Wire of the Manic Street Preachers, and creative director of Dior, Jonathan Anderson, tell Sian how Gwen John still influences their work today.

Some of the important art works from our Gwen John collection will feature in the new National Museum Cardiff exhibition, 'Gwen John: Strange Beauties'.

Tenby Museum and Art Gallery, will also feature in the programme, as some of the important art works from the Museum’s Gwen John collection will feature in a new National Museum Cardiff exhibition - 'Gwen John: Strange Beauties'.

Gwen John tenby Museum
Tenby Museum will also feature in the programme, as some of the important art works from the Museum’s Gwen John collection will feature in a new National Museum Cardiff exhibition - 'Gwen John: Strange Beauties' (Tenby Museum)

A spokesperson for Tenby Museum shared: “In the documentary, ‘Keep the World Away - Finding Gwen John’, which coincides with the opening of the exhibition, our previous curator Hannah discusses Gwen's early life and possible influences, as well as the reasons Gwen is so significant to her and all the staff at the museum.

“Nicky Wire from the Manic Street Preachers - a previous exhibiting artist here in Tenby, also talks about how Gwen John has inspired his own artworks, one of which we have in the museum collection.”

‘Gwen John: Strange Beauties’ opens on Saturday, February 7 at the National Museum Cardiff.