Focus on this artwork and explain the Mass appeal.
Vosper exhibited Salem in 1909 at the Royal Academy in London, where it came to the attention of the industrialist William Hesketh Lever. Lever bought the painting for £105 and the original can be seen today in the art gallery he established at Port Sunlight. The painting may have remained obscure in his private collection had Lever not decided to use the painting in a promotion of the Lever Brothers' popular product Sunlight soap.
The soap bars came with collectable tokens, and buying seven pounds of soap would acquire enough tokens to exchange for a print of the painting (an early example of marketing premiums). This promotion resulted in Salem appearing in many homes across Britain. At that time many homes owned no form of visual art and the innovative 'free gift' offer ensured that prints of Salem became widely, and uniquely popular amongst working-class communities, especially in Wales.
By 1933 the painting was famous enough to be the subject of a notable article in the Welsh-language magazine Y Ford Gron ('The Round Table') and in 1937, Salem gained yet more popularity when Sir Ifan ab Owen Edwards sold thousands of prints to supporters of Urdd Gobaith Cymru for 6d. By 1942 it was described by Yr Aelwyd ('The Hearth') as "One of the most beautiful pictures of the religious life of Wales in old times", and in 1950, 1956 and 1957 many more Welsh households obtained copies when the picture was used in the Cymru Fydd calendar. By the 1960s, the painting was famous throughout Wales and was ubiquitous in many Welsh communities.
Today a framed print of Salem hanging on the wall is a feature of many Welsh museums and historical buildings. In 2013, the painting featured in the first episode of the Welsh drama series Hinterland.
Cymru Fydd William Hesketh Lever Hinterland marketing premiums Urdd Gobaith Cymru Ifan ab Owen Edwards Sunlight soap Wales 'free gift' Lever Brothers Port Sunlight Royal Academy Sir Ifan ab Owen Edwards