Edith Simon
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Edith Simon (18 May 1917 – 7 January 2003) was a German-born British artist, author, sculptor, and historian active mainly in
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
.


Early life

Simon was born on 18 May 1917 in
Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...
,
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, the eldest daughter of Grete and Walter Simon. Her father was a decorated artillery officer in the
German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Simon attended the Fürstin-Bismarck Gymnasium, where she excelled at art and history. A Berlin newspaper published her art and writing starting at the age of 10. Her parents were agnostic Jews and, recognising the threat from the
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
, left Germany in 1931 to avoid further persecution and settled in London. Simon followed them to London in 1931. Rather than complete her studies in England (she had yet to fully master the English language), Simon returned briefly to Germany to complete her ''Reifezeugnis'' (the German equivalent of English
A-levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...
). While staying with relatives in
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
, her cousin took her to visit the renowned
Kunstakademie Düsseldorf The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf is the academy of fine arts of the state of North Rhine Westphalia at the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Notable artists who studied or taught at the academy include Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Magdalena Jetelová, ...
. Experiencing the atmosphere at the Akademie, the seriousness of the art teaching, and the progressiveness of the modern art being created made an impression on the young Simon.


Writing

Over the years Simon wrote 17 novels, historical fiction, and non-fiction books on a range of topics, and contributed to many others. In 1937, she wrote and illustrated a children's story ''Somersaults and Strange Company'' published under the
nom de plume A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...
'Edith'. Her second publication in 1939 was a translation, from German into English, of
Arthur Koestler Arthur Koestler, (, ; ; hu, Kösztler Artúr; 5 September 1905 – 1 March 1983) was a Hungarian-born author and journalist. Koestler was born in Budapest and, apart from his early school years, was educated in Austria. In 1931, Koestler join ...
's first novel ''The Gladiators''. In 1940 she published her own first novel, ''The Chosen'', which received good reviews. She went on to write several more novels, including ''The Piebald Standard'' (1959), based on the history of the
Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...
. She then turned her attention to two biographies – ''Luther Alive'' (1962) about
Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...
and his role and influence in the
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
, and ''The Making of Frederick The Great'' (1961). Her biography of
Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...
was translated in to German, and is still in use today. Simon gave up writing books when the publisher Lord Wedenfield refused to publish her novel about the assassination of
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
, being concerned about the controversy and offence it might cause.


Art

At the age of 16 Simon studied for a short time at the
Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...
and then the
Central School of Art and Design The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Cr ...
, before working as an illustrator of books. Her focus turned away from art for many years, but she returned to it in 1970 and continued until her death in 2003. in the 1980s she made intricate "scalpel paintings" from paper. Every year from 1970 to 2001 she exhibited during the annual
Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
. Her work was described by artist
John Bellany John Bellany (18 June 1942 – 28 August 2013) was a Scottish people, Scottish painter. Early life Bellany was born in Port Seton. His father and grandfather were fishermen in Port Seton and Eyemouth near Edinburgh. During the early 1960 ...
as "Fearless Vigour". In 1933 she was one of the founding members of the
Artists' International Association The Artists' International Association (AIA) was an organisation founded in London in 1933 out of discussion among Pearl Binder, Clifford Rowe, Misha Black, James Fitton, James Boswell, James Holland, Edward Ardizzone, Peter Laszlo Peri'Artist ...
.


Personal life

Simon met the
geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processe ...
Dr. Eric Reeve at a party in London in 1942, and they married later that year. They moved to Edinburgh in 1947 when Reeve took a position at the Institute of Animal Genetics at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
. Together the couple had three children, Antonia, who became a professional photographer, Simon, and Jay. Her home in Edinburgh's
New Town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
was the venue for many lavish, colourful, and memorable parties. She died in Edinburgh on 7 January 2003. Her obituary in ''
The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...
'' newspaper described her as having "considerable intellectual power, literary gifts, charm and a mordant wit. She was striking in appearance, trenchant in her views and generous to the young and those in need". Her archive is held in the collections of
National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS) ( gd, Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba, sco, Naitional Leebrar o Scotland) is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. As one of the largest libraries in the ...
.


Works

* ''The Adventures of the Little Pig and Other Stories'' (1937) – as illustrator * ''Somersaults and Strange Company'' (1937) * ''The Gladiators'' (1939) – as translator * ''The Chosen'' (1940) * ''Biting the Blue Finger'' (1942) * ''Wings Deceive'' (1944) * ''The Other Passion'' (1948) * ''The Golden Hand'' (1952) * ''The House of Strangers'' (1953) * ''The Past Masters'' (1953) * ''The Twelve Pictures'' (1956) * ''The Sable Coat'' (1958) * ''The Piebald Standard: A Biography of the Knights Templars'' (1959) * ''The Great Forgery'' (1962) * ''The Making of Frederick the Great'' (1963) * ''Luther Alive: Martin Luther and the Making of the Reformation ''(1968) * ''The Saints'' (1968) * ''The Anglo Saxon Manner: The English Contribution to Civilization'' (1972) * "Martin Luther" in ''The Horizon Book of Makers of Modern Thought'' (1972) * "Frederick II the Great of Prussia" in ''
Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
'' (1974 edition) – as contributor *''Health Service'' sculpture in the grounds of the
Astley Ainslie Hospital The Astley Ainslie Hospital is a community hospital in The Grange, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is operated by NHS Lothian. History David Ainslie, who died in 1900, left £800,000 for the purpose of building and endowing a hospital or institution f ...
, Edinburgh


References


External links

*
The Edith Simon Gallery

The Recessionists

''Portrait in Papercut''
A documentary film of Edith Simon in conversation and at work creating intricate "scalpel paintings" from paper. {{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, Edith German emigrants to England British women novelists British women sculptors 1917 births 2003 deaths 20th-century British sculptors 20th-century British women artists 20th-century British historians Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design German emigrants to Scotland Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom German people of Jewish descent British people of German-Jewish descent 20th-century British novelists British Jewish writers 20th-century British women writers British women historians