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US: From there to here
Britain’s Gain, 10 April - 14 June 2024

US: From there to here: Britain’s Gain

Past exhibition
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Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Josef Herman, Figure Studies

Josef Herman 1911-2000

Figure Studies
pen and ink and wash on paper
22.2 x 17.1
1991-2
@Josef Herman estate
Photo: Bridgeman images
Josef Herman discovered his mature artistic voice when first visiting the Welsh village of Ystradgynlais in the summer of 1944. There he was captivated by the simple dignity of the...
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Josef Herman discovered his mature artistic voice when first visiting the Welsh village of Ystradgynlais in the summer of 1944. There he was captivated by the simple dignity of the miners which provided him inspiration for the next eleven years he spent living in the village. This quickly executed drawing represents his ongoing fascination with the working class. Depicting people he knew closely without any distinguishing features, Herman progressed from illustrating a specific subject to universality. He reduces his figures to mere outlines and shadows, keeping only some significant details – headscarves, hats – while depriving them of their context. The figures are sitting in groups of three: the women close together and facing front as if in a discussion, the men turning their backs and keeping distance while resting. This pair of pictures can be taken as a representation of the contrasting ideas of closeness and isolation, tension and idleness.
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Provenance

presented by Rose and Bernard Gillinson 1991

Literature

Walter Schwabe and Julia Weiner, eds., Jewish Artists: the Ben Uri Collection - Paintings, Drawings, Prints and Sculpture (London: Ben Uri Art Society in association with Lund Humphries Publishers Ltd, 1994), p. 127.
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