Josef Herman

Josef Herman was born in Poland in 1911. He came to Glasgow in 1940, following the German invasion, learning afterwards that his whole family had been killed in the 'holocaust'. He moved to Ystradgynlais in 1944 where he lived and painted for 11 years. He loved the Welsh miners and their families and felt at home, spending his time filling many sketch books of the Welsh people and the landscape of Ystradgynlais, and from these sketches produced some of his most famous paintings. In 1955 he moved to London. His work is exhibited throughout Europe and America and can be seen in many Museums in Britain. His death in February 2000 is a great loss to the nation.