Josef Herman discovered enduring inspiration in the Welsh mining village of Ystradgynlais in the summer of 1944. He admired the simple dignity of the close-knit, hardworking, mining community, which provided him with inspiration for the next eleven years. The figures are represented by blocky shapes with only their outlines inked in, affording them a monumentality; their absence of featues suggests a universality and kinship. They are distinguished only by their attitudes and attributes, such as the women's headscarves and the men's caps. The women sit close together and facing front, united in active discussion, while the men are spaced further apart and have their backs turned to the viewer, companianable but separate. Together they suggest contrasting ideas of closeness and isolation, activity and repose.