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Alfred Janes - 1911 - 1999

The Swansea-born artist Fred Janes passed through Swansea Grammar School a few years ahead of Dylan Thomas. He first met Dylan through Daniel Jones, and they became lifelong friends. He attended the Royal Academy School in London, and flatshared with Dylan and Mervyn Levy in Redcliffe Street in 1934 and he painted the portraits of both men around this time, eventually completing three portraits of Dylan (and three of Mervyn).

Although he is best known for his meticulous portraits and rich still-life studies of fish and flowers he was deeply fascinated by the possibilities offered by different techniques and media, and constantly experimented with new styles and materials. His work won a number of Academy Awards and has been exhibited widely and the National Museum of Wales, University of Wales Swansea and the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery all have collections of his work.

Although not known as a landscape painter or painter of place he was moved to make a fine oil painting of the blitzed ruins of their beloved 'Kardomah Café'.