A SPECIAL memorial is to be unveiled for the world renowned artist from Pembrokeshire, Gwen John, to acknowledge her international contribution to Welsh art history.

Tomorrow (Saturday), the memorial will be unveiled in Dieppe, France, to mark the artist's final resting place which was re-discovered as part of extensive research for S4C's documentary series Mamwlad gyda Ffion Hague last year.

It is a significant milestone in the story of Gwen's life with Ffion Hague travelling back to Dieppe in France to unveil a memorial in her memory to acknowledge the contribution she made to the arts. The journey will be filmed for a new S4C documentary.

Ffion Hague, presenter and executive producer of Mamwlad, said: "There have been hard efforts to ensure a fitting tribute for an artist of international status in the country which she called home for so long. From the moment the Mamwlad team successfully found her burial in Dieppe, we were all determined to ensure that this place would be noted officially and finally an ending - at last - to Gwen's sad story. It is a privilege for me to be there filming for S4C and it will be an unforgettable occasion."

In the new documentary programme, which is to be shown on S4C later this year, we will follow the preparations for the day of unveiling the memorial and will hear from some of the experts of the art world about the importance of this historical day. It will be an opportunity to celebrate the unique talent of Gwen John and her contribution to art history in Wales, Europe and across the world.

Born in Haverfordwest in 1876, Gwen and her family moved to Tenby following the death of her mother. Gwen followed her brother Augustus to London to study at the Slade School of Fine Art before moving to Paris, where she found herself caught up in a passionate and all-consuming love affair with the world-famous sculptor, Rodin.

Gwen John passed away in September 1939 at the age of 63 and for many years nobody knew where exactly the artist had been buried.

The slate, commissioned by Tinopolis and S4C, denotes the birth place and death of Gwen in French. In Welsh, the words 'People are like shadows to me and like a shadow I am to them' which is a translation of a sentence Gwen wrote in one of her letters to world renowned sculptor Rodin.