David Herman writes about seeing the more personal work of his father, the Polish painter Josef Herman. “He belonged to a great tradition of European artists who from the mid-19th century depicted the dignity of labour: from Courbet, Millet and Van Gogh to the Flemish Expressionists and the German artist, Käthe Kollwitz in the early 20th century,” he states, describing the way critics and admirers have known him.

But then sketches and paintings of a different nature were discovered.

“Everyone in these newly discovered drawings and paintings was recognizably Jewish. The palette was completely different: dark blue skies, a white crescent moon, pale faces with dark, haunted eyes.”