Hester Henrietta (Hetta) Crouse Empson (1915–1996) was a South African sculptor. She was described as a "sculptor, political activist, adventurer and socialite" in her obituary in the Times. She and her husband William Empson were involved in the London bohemian group that included

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and Kathleen Raine.

Life

Crouse was born in Kroonstad,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

on 18 September 1915. She attended Bloemfontein University and also studied art in Germany. She returned to South Africa where she worked on a newspaper. Crouse returned to Europe with her then-fiancé . After touring France and Switzerland, she went on, by herself to England. She stayed there throughout

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, working as an ambulance driver and then at the British Broadcasting Corporation (

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

). At the BBC she met her future husband William Empson, the literary critic, with whom she had two sons. The couple married and they moved to China in 1947. They stayed there until 1952, when they returned to England. William Empson moved to Sheffield to teach English at the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

while Hetta Empson lived in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In 1956 she gave birth to her third son with her lover, the poet Peter Duval Smith. In 1979 William Empson was knighted and Hetta became Lady Empson. She died on 22 December 1996.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Empson, Hetta 1915 births 1996 deaths 20th-century South African women artists South African women sculptors University of the Free State alumni