Josef Herman – Miner with shovel

About

Room 9

Local-global culture in the world today is bristling with conflict and war from which people seek to escape, often finding shelter in places like Swansea, a designated city of sanctuary.  

The same was true for Josef Herman in the1940s, when he fled from Poland during the onset of WWII, settling in Ystradgynlais in 1944, where he was warmly welcomed and stayed for more than ten years.

Having studied art in Warsaw, Herman began to paint in his new surroundings, a close-knit coal-mining community, where he loved to capture the spirit of miners on their way home from work.

In 1951, Herman was commissioned to paint a mural for the ‘Festival of Britain’. He made a large work entitled Miners, which is on display, the scale gently reinforcing Herman’s deep respect for their dignity. He was awarded an OBE in 1981.