© Josef Herman estate

In 1944, when Herman visited the tiny mining town of Ystradgynlais in South Wales, he was drawn to the close-knit community, which, much like his own had its own language, customs and culture. He made his home there for the next eleven years and his dignified studies of miners and other working people made his reputation as a painter. Although shrouded in darkness, this street scene, studded with jewels of colour, exudes tranquillity. The working man standing by the door marks the moment when work ceases and the tired labourers wander home at the end of the day.