Husband and wife Stanley and Min Lewis lived a fascinating life which saw them produce a vast body of creative work as well as befriend Dylan and Caitlin Thomas when they lived across the Taf estuary from them in Llansteffan, Carmarthenshire.
Stanley and Min Lewis. Image courtesy of Paul Liss and Jennifer Heywood.
Min, who was born in Rogerstone, Monmouthshire, penned dozens of children鈥檚 stories for the South Wales Evening Post, alongside her books, some of which were even considered by Hollywood screenwriters.
These featured illustrations by her husband Stanley C Lewis, who was awarded the MBE in 2006 and was described by Augustus John as one of the most important artists of the 20th century.
Stanley, who was born in Chepstow, also produced hundreds of paintings and murals across a variety of disciplines throughout his lifetime. He sadly died before an exhibition of his impressive life鈥檚 work went on show.
Now the couple鈥檚 daughter Jennifer Heywood and her friend Matthew Hughes have joined forces to bring posthumous appreciation for the couple鈥檚 talents.聽
Their campaign sees them relaunching an intriguing book by the couple published in 1967 - Laugharne and Dylan Thomas - which paints an insightful picture of life in the town.
When Min died at the age of 83 in 2003, Stanley, then 96, was distraught and decided to reissue the book in memory of her, toiling to add 80 more drawings and newspaper cuttings.
It was republished in 2004 but both Jennifer and Matthew feel it warranted more attention than it got.
Laugharne and Dylan Thomas, written by Min and illustrated by Stanley, did not prove successful at either launch which Matt feels is disappointing. It offers a fascinating insight into Thomas鈥� Laugharne and how it captured his imagination.
It saw Min moving the family home to Upton House in Laugharne in a bid to create an accurate foundation of research for the book.
Min wanted to get to know all the characters in Thomas鈥� home town and really immerse herself in life there. She would interview people the poet had met, and even claimed to have found some of the people who inspired the characters in Under Milk Wood.
Stanley captured scenes from the local pubs, landmarks and places of interest in his sketchbook and was even invited to capture the first ever performances of the Laugharne townsfolk鈥檚 production of Under Milk Wood in 1958.
Matthew, who works at 5 Cwmdonkin Drive in Uplands, Swansea, the birthplace of Dylan Thomas, told me it was vital the pair鈥檚 achievements were not allowed to lapse from public memory.
He said: 鈥淪tanley and Min Lewis achieved an incredible amount during their lifetimes and never courted publicity, simply creating work for the sheer pleasure of doing it 鈥� they were never really interested in making a name for themselves.
鈥淚f they were alive and still creating today, they would have the free forum of social media to promote their work and their careers may have panned out quite differently.
鈥淪tanley C Lewis worked right up until the day he died at the age of 103 in 2009 and had been drawing since the age of four, right through World War One, even acting as an official war artist on the home front and his work ranged from simple sketches to fantastic murals and huge oil paintings, all with an incredible attention to detail.
鈥淛ennifer and I both feel it鈥檚 such a shame to let their work die with them when together they offer such a plethora of intriguing work and insight into a multitude of key themes and characters from the 20th century that they both experienced and knew,鈥� added Matthew.
Read more about the campaign to get recognition for the couple on the new Facebook page: .