Simon, Edith (writer and artist) (1917-2003)
Dates
- Existence: 1917-2003 - 2003
Biography
Edith Simon was born on 18 May 1917 in Berlin, Germany, to Walter and Grete Simon. Educated at the Fürstin-Bismarck Gymnasium, she showed a talent for art and history, and enjoyed early success with the publication of her drawings whilst still only 10 years old. Her father Walter, a decorated Great War veteran and successful businessman, moved with his young family to London when Edith was just 15, as the political climate in Germany became increasingly threatening. Edith, alongside her younger sister Inge, arrived in the British capital in 1932.
Edith studied for a short time at both the Slade School of Fine Art and the Central School of Art and Design. She also became an early member of the Artists International Association (AIA), which formed in London in 1933.
Writing Career
Embarking on her professional writing career, Edith’s first book was a children’s adventure story which she wrote and illustrated, titled Somersaults and Strange Company, published by Lawrence & Wishart in 1937. She had also begun working at this time as a book jacket illustrator, demonstrating her signature style and draughtsmanship. In 1938, she translated Arthur Koestler’s The Gladiators into English, which was published a year later. Her first novel, The Chosen, was published in 1940 by John Lane, The Bodley Head, when Edith was still only 23.
She would go on to author 17 books, including contemporary novels, historical novels, and histories, as well as contributing to edited collections. Her published work includes:
Somersaults and Strange Company (Lawrence & Wishart 1937)
The Gladiators by Arthur Koestler, (UK Johnathan Cape 1939; US Macmillan - New York 1939) (translated by Edith Simon)
The Chosen (The Bodley Head 1940)
Biting the Blue Finger (The Bodley Head 1942)
Wings Deceive (The Bodley Head 1944)
The Other Passion (The Bodley Head 1948)
The Golden Hand (UK edition Cassell & Co. Ltd. 1952; US edition G.P. Putnam's Sons 1951)
The Past Masters (UK edition Cassell & Co. Ltd. 1953; US edition 'The House of Strangers', G.P. Putnam's Sons 1953)
The Twelve Pictures (UK edition Cassell & Co. Ltd. 1956; US edition G.P. Putnam's Sons 1955)
The Sable Coat (Cassell & Co. Ltd. 1958)
The Piebald Standard: A Biography of the Knights Templar (UK edition Cassell & Co. Ltd. 1959; US edition G.P. Putnam's Sons 1959)
The Undying Past, ed. Orville Prescott (Doubleday 1961) (contributor)
The Great Forgery (UK edition Cassell & Co. Ltd. 1962; US edition Little, Brown & Co. 1962)
The Making of Frederick the Great (UK edition Cassell & Co. Ltd. 1963; US editions Little, Brown & Co., reprint Greenan Press)
Friedrich Der Grosse, Das Weiden eines Königs (Rainer Wunderlich Verlag, Hermann Leins, Tubingen, 1963)
The Book of Books – A Treasury of Great Bible Fiction, eds. Irwin R Blacker & Ethel H Blacker (Holt, Reinhart & Winston NY, 1965) (contributor)
The Reformation (Time-Life 1966)
Die Reformation von Edith Simon und der Redaktion der Time-Life (Time-Life 1967)
The Saints (UK edition Weidenfeld & Nicolson 1968; US edition Delacorte Press 1968)
Luther Alive (UK edition Hodder & Stoughton 1968; US edition Doubleday 1968)
The Anglo-Saxon Manner (Cassell & Co. Ltd. 1972)
The Makers of Modern Thought (Horizon Books American Heritage Books – subsidiary of McGraw Hill 1972) (contributor)
‘Frederick II the Great of Prussia’ (Encyclopaedia Britannica 1974) (contributor)
In addition, Edith also wrote two plays ‘The Inimitable’ and ‘Love Me, Scum’, neither of which were ever performed, and she completed a film script entitled 'A Perfect Marriage'.
It was in London in 1942 that Edith met the noted scientist Dr. Eric Reeve, whom she married that same year. The couple moved to Edinburgh in 1947 to facilitate Eric’s new role with Edinburgh University’s Genetics Department. They lived first at Mortonhall House, alongside a team of geneticists also working at the University. They would subsequently move to Roseberry Crescent, and Lansdowne Crescent, before settling permanently in Grosvenor Crescent. They had three children, Antonia (b.1950), Simon (b.1952), and Jessica (b. 1954).
Art Career
Edith returned to her artistic practice in the early 1970s, participating in an early exhibition at the Demarco Gallery in Edinburgh in 1970, followed by her first one-woman show at Gallerie Balans in Amsterdam in 1971 where she presented mobile sculptures and her signature papercut bas relief paintings. Edith would go on to stage and appear in over 50 exhibitions throughout her career. She experimented with and explored many mediums and forms including continuous line drawings, papercut bas relief scalpel paintings, rope sculptures, mobile and soft sculptures, sculptures in stained wood, ciment-fondue, vacuum formed perspex, cast polyester resin, cold-cast bronze, copper, aluminium, metal sheet, and carved plaster. She also utilised painted glass, as well as undertaking murals in paint and wood veneer. For over thirty years, she exhibited annually at the Edinburgh Festival, with her final show being held in 2001. [A full list of exhibitions (1970-2003) is available on the Edith Simon Gallery website cited below.]
In 1995, Edith contracted a respiratory infection which revealed an existing condition, widely known as emphysema. This necessitated the use of daily oxygen for the remainder of her life. Edith Simon died in Edinburgh on 7 January 2003.
Biographical information has been taken from ‘Moderation be Damned: Edith Simon’, published by Antonia Reeve in 2005, alongside the artist’s biographical note on the Edith Simon Gallery website, available at edith-simon.com.
Found in 450 Collections and/or Records:
Correspondence to Edith Simon from publishers and literary agents, 1966
Correspondence to Edith Simon from publishers and literary agents, 1967
Correspondence to Edith Simon from publishers and literary agents, 1968-1971
Correspondence to Edith Simon from publishers and literary agents, 1972-1975
Correspondence to Edith Simon from publishers and literary agents, and a small number of private individuals, 1952-1956
Correspondence to Edith Simon regarding publishing and art-related projects, 1973-1975
Correspondence to Edith Simon regarding publishing and art-related projects, 1972-1974
Display folder of Edith Simon entitled 'Scalpel Painting Photographs', bulk: circa 1980-2003
Display folder contains black and white, and colour, photographs of works by Edith Simon, primarily her scalpel bas relief paintings, but also including a small number of sculptural pieces and dolls. Images are accompanied by titles, measurements, and mediums, in most cases, on the rear. Photographer identified as Antonia Reeve. Photographs have been re-housed for preservation purposes and original folder disposed off, with a copy of the cover title being retained.
Display folder of Edith Simon entitled 'Scalpel Painting, Sculpture', containing photographs, bulk: circa 1980-2003
Display folder contains black and white, and colour, photographs of works by Edith Simon, primarily her sculptural pieces and scalpel bas relief paintings. Images are accompanied by titles, measurements, and mediums in most cases, with some also containing details on the rear. Photographer identified in many cases as Antonia Reeve. Photographs have been re-housed for preservation purposes and original folder disposed off, with a copy of the cover title being retained.
Edith Simon's art-related press cuttings, Vol. 1, 1971-1986
Edith Simon's art-related press cuttings, Vol. 2, 1987-1992
Press cuttings, programmes, flyers, and posters have all been arranged in chronological order, by exhibition, by the artist. Exhibitions in this file include Maverick, or Who's Afraid of Edith Simon (1987); The Timeless Image (1988); Scottish SPCA Anniversary Concert (1989); The New Underground (1989); Edith Simon in Glasgow (1990); Moderation Be Damned (1990); Lovely Odd Fish (1990); Signals (1991); Signals II (1991); and Edith Simon's Brilliant Alternative Portrait Gallery (1992).
Edith Simon's art-related press cuttings, Vol. 3, 1993-1996
Press cuttings, programmes, flyers, and posters have all been arranged in chronological order, by exhibition, by the artist. Exhibitions include Discoveries (1993); The Cutting Edge (1993); Astonish Us (1994); New Location-New Departures (1995); Art is THERAPY (1996); and Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis (1996). File also includes price lists.
Edith Simon's art-related press cuttings, Vol. 4, 1997-1999
Press cuttings, programmes, flyers, and posters have all been arranged in chronological order, by exhibition. Exhibitions in this file include Edith Simon: Works (1997); Fearless Vigour: The Art of Edith Simon (1998); and Art @ Edith Simon-Home (1999). File also includes exhibition posters, programmes, and price lists.
Edith Simon's art-related press cuttings, Vol. 5, 2000-2003
Press cuttings, programmes, flyers, and posters have all been arranged in chronological order, by exhibition. Exhibitions in this file include Edith Simon. Once Again (2000) and Edith Simon. Come Again (2001). File also includes price lists. The entries for 2003 pertain to Edith Simon's death with cuttings and ephemera encompassing death notices, obituaries, and items relating to the Edith Simon Memorial Exhibition held in August 2003.
Edith Simon's book-related press cuttings, part 1, 1950-1958
This sub-series contains the press cuttings Edith Simon retained, documenting press coverage and reviews for her writing career and published books.
Edith Simon's book-related press cuttings, part 2, 1950-1958
This sub-series contains the press cuttings Edith Simon retained, documenting press coverage and reviews for her writing career and published books.
Edith Simon's book-related press cuttings, part 3, 1959-1969
This sub-series contains the press cuttings Edith Simon retained, documenting press coverage and reviews for her writing career and published books.
Edith Simon's book-related press cuttings, Vol. 1, 1940-1959
Edith Simon's book-related press cuttings, Vol. 2, 1961-1968
Press cuttings, articles, reviews, and typescript transcriptions of reviews have all been arranged by book title by the author. Books in this file include The Great Forgery (1961); The Making of Frederick the Great (1963); The Reformation (1966); The Saints (1968); and Luther Alive (1968). File also contains a small number of letters of correspondence from friends, and fans.
Ephemera relating to Edith Simon's art career, 1971-2000
File contains Edith Simon exhibition leaflets; a copy of The Art Book magazine featuring one of Edith' scalpel paintings (January 1997); a photographic print of the same image included in the magazine; a play programme for Noel Coward’s ‘Fallen Angels’ at the Gardner Centre Theatre, Brighton (1972), with an advertisement for Edith's exhibition at the Gardner Centre Gallery; and an exhibition catalogue for the Scottish Society of Women Artists’ annual exhibition 1976.
Exercise book and loose manuscript pages, originally accompanying Edith Simon's two manuscript drafts of 'The Golden Hand', ?1949
Exercise book and loose pages were originally housed in the same folder as Edith Simon's notebook containing a manuscript draft of the novel 'The Golden Hand', volume 1. Exercise book contains manuscript notes and illustrations concerning church architecture. It appears that the first few pages have been cut from the book and are not present.
Exhibition-related papers, 1968-2003
This sub-series contains ephemera, pricelists, catalogues, worklists, notebooks, administrative papers, and visitor books relating to exhibitions organised and staged by Edith Simon and those in which she appeared.
Between 1970-2001, Edith staged or appeared in over 50 exhibitions, although not all are represented in her papers.
Family and personal correspondence, 1932-1989
Correspondence in this sub-series includes personal letters sent to Edith Simon and Eric Reeve, alongside letters sent from the couple to family members and friends. Where copy letters are present from Edith herself this has been noted in individual files. Correspondents of note include Edith's parents Walter & Grete Simon, her sister Inge Goodwin, and friends Joan Feisenberger, Arthur Koestler, John Mair, and David Mindline.
Family and personal correspondence to and of Edith Simon, 1940-1941
File contains letters and postcards from Edith's sister Inge Goodwin, Igna Beth Heiden; possibly Pamela Hemsford Johnson; and possibly Dorothy Phillipson. File also contains one letter from Edith to 'Terry'.
Family and personal correspondence to Edith Simon, circa 1932-1939
Identified correspondents include Inge Goodwin; 'Henry'; Franz Dattner; Igna Beth Heiden; F. le Gros Clark; Otto Simon; and others. File also includes an illustrated poem by Edith Simon to her father Walter F. Simon (4 March 1935).