Josef Herman (3 January 1911 – 19 February 2000), was a highly regarded Polish-British painter who influenced

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

, particularly in the United Kingdom. He was part of a generation of central and eastern European Jewish refugee artists who emigrated to escape Nazi persecution. He saw himself as part of a tradition of European figurative artists who painted working people, a tradition that included Courbet, Millet and Van Gogh, Kathe Kollwitz and the Flemish Expressionist Constant Permeke. For eleven years he lived in

Ystradgynlais Ystradgynlais (; ) is a town in southwest Powys, Wales. It is located on the River Tawe, and was within the boundaries of the former county of Brecknockshire. The town has a high proportion of Welsh language-speakers. The community includes C ...

, a mining community in

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

Biography

Herman was born in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

into a

Polish-Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

family, on 3 January 1911. His father, David, was an illiterate shoemaker, his mother was called Sarah Malkah. He was the eldest of three children. His brother was called Shmiel, his sister was called Zelda. Josef grew up speaking Yiddish and he was profoundly influenced by Yiddish culture. From 1930 he attended the Warsaw School of Art, where he trained as a typesetter and graphic designer and then for two years worked briefly as a

graphic artist A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming l ...

. In 1938 at the age of 27, Herman left

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

for

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. He was introduced to many of the prominent artists then working in the city. After the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the German invasion of Belgium, he escaped to France and then in 1940 to Great Britain. In Britain, he first lived in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, where he met the sculptor Benno Schotz who became a lifelong friend and he was reunited with the Polish-Jewish artist

Jankel Adler Jankel Adler (born Jankiel Jakub Adler; 26 July 1895 – 25 April 1949) was a Polish-Jewish avant-garde painter and printmaker active primarily in Germany, France and England. He began his career as an engraver in Belgrade before studying ar ...

. Between 1940 and 1943 he contributed to a remarkable wartime artistic renaissance in the city. Herman learned through the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

that his entire family had perished in the

Warsaw Ghetto The Warsaw Ghetto (, officially , ; ) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the Nazi Germany, German authorities within the new General Government territory of Occupat ...

. In 1942 he met and married Catriona MacLeod and he had his first exhibition in Scotland at Aitken Dott & Son, Edinburgh. While in Scotland he drew and painted scenes of Jewish life from Poland which only became more widely known in the 1980s. In 1943 he moved to London and held his first London exhibition with

L. S. Lowry Laurence Stephen Lowry ( ; 1 November 1887 – 23 February 1976) was an English artist. His drawings and paintings mainly depict Pendlebury, Greater Manchester (where he lived and worked for more than 40 years) as well as Salford and its ...

. Herman's own style was bold and distinctive, involving strong shapes with minimal detail. He continued to work until the late 1990s. Herman is best known for his paintings of working people, including peasants, fishermen and, most notably, coal miners. The latter became a particular interest for Herman during the eleven years that he lived in

, a mining community in

, beginning in 1944. For the first four years he stayed in rooms at the Pen-y-bont Inn. He became part of the community, where he was fondly nicknamed "Joe Bach" (Little Joe). "Miners, 1951 - Josef Herman"
, Swansea Heritage.net, accessed 13 October 2010 Herman is quoted as saying: "I stayed here because I found ALL I required. I arrived a stranger for a fortnight. The fortnight became eleven years." When commissioned in 1951 to paint a mural for the

Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Labour Party cabinet member Herbert Morrison was the prime mover; in 1947 he started with the ...

, Herman painted a group of coal miners. His work ''Miners'' (1951) showed six men resting above ground after their work. Herman said, "I think it is one of my key pictures and the most important one I did in Wales." The mural is held in the permanent collection of the

Glynn Vivian Art Gallery The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery is the public art gallery of the City and County of Swansea, in Wales, United Kingdom. The gallery is situated in Alexandra Road, near Swansea railway station, opposite the old Swansea Central Library. History The ...

, affiliated with the

Swansea Museum The Swansea Museum in Swansea, Wales, UK is the oldest museum in Wales, created for and by the Royal Institution of South Wales in 1841 to house its collections and provide research and learning facilities. History Swansea Museum is the olde ...

. Leaving Wales in 1955 because his health was affected by the damp climate, Herman returned to London. He was awarded the Gold Medal for Fine Art at the 1962

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

. In 1955 Herman met Nini Ettlinger, whom he married in 1961. They had three children: David (born 1957), Sara (1962-6) and Rebekah (born 1967). In 1962 the family moved to Little Cornard, near Sudbury, Suffolk. In 1971 the family moved briefly to Hundon also in West Suffolk. From 1972 Herman lived in the house in West London where he died in February 2000. In 1981 Herman was awarded an

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for services to British Art and was elected to the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

in 1990.

Legacy and honours

*2004, the Josef Herman Foundation was established in Ystradgynlais, to honour the artist and his legacy, and encourage study of his work, as well as arts initiatives in South Wales. *2010, Michael Waters' play, ''The Secret of Belonging'', about Josef Herman and his years in Ystradgynlais, was produced by the

National Theatre Wales National Theatre Wales (NTW) was a charity and theatre company based in Wales. It was established in 2009, but following the cessation of funding in April 2024, it closed in December 2024, with its community work being carried on and evolved to ...

. The play included a contemporary folk-influenced score by Swansea musician and composer Andy Jones, and it was performed by the Antic Theatre. They first performed at

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

, then took the play on a tour of South Wales during April/May 2010."The Secret of Belonging"
''Community'', National Theatre Wales, accessed 13 October 2010

Bibliography

*Bohm-Duchen, M. (2009) ''The Art and Life of Josef Herman.'' Lund Humphries, Surrey. *Heller, R. (1998) ''Josef Herman: The work is the Life.'' Momentum, London. *Herman, N. (1996) ''Josef Hermann: A Working Life.'' Quartet Books, London. *Herman, J. (1988) ''Note From A Welsh Diary.'' Free Association Books, London. *Herman, J. (1975) ''Related Twilights: Notes from an Artist's Diary.'' Robson, London.

Selected exhibitions

*2014–15 Refiguring the 50s: Joan Eardley, Sheila Fell, Eva Frankfurter, Josef Herman and L.S. Lowry, Ben Uri Gallery, London *2009 Josef Herman: The Art & Life, Flowers Central, London *2000 The Work is the Life, Flowers East, London *1994 Related Twilights, Fifty years of Drawing and Painting (1944 – 94), Angela Flowers Gallery, London *1989 Retrospective Exhibition, National Museum of Wales, Cardiff *1989 Recent works 1984–89 and Homage to the Women of Greenham Common, Angela Flowers Gallery, London *1980 4th retrospective exhibition, Camden Arts Centre, London *1975 3rd retrospective exhibition, Glasgow *1957 Recent works, Roland, Browse and Delbanco. *1956 2nd retrospective exhibition, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London Drawings, *1955 1st retrospective exhibition, Wakefield City Art Gallery *1954 Geffrye Museum, London, exhibition with Henry Moore *1949 Ben Uri Gallery, London, exhibition with Martin Bloch *1943 1st solo exhibition in London, Reid Gallery, London *1943 Lefevre, London, exhibition with L.S. Lowry *1932 1st exhibition in Warsaw

References

External links

Herman's work is held in many major public and private art collections. *
14 artworks by Josef Herman
at th
Ben Uri
site *The

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...