Biography
Edith was born on 18th. May 1917 in Berlin, Germany where her family had lived for generations. Her father Walter Simon was a much decorated cavalry officer in the First World War, and a prosperous business owner in peacetime. Her school was The Furstin-Bismark Gymnasium where she received a good liberal education, and excelled at art and history. In 1927 at the age of 10 her drawings were first published in a newspaper.
As the political climate in Germany became increasingly threatening Walter Simon wisely decided the family would be safer if they left Germany and move to London, much to Edith’s dismay.
In 1932 Edith and her sister Inge arrived in London to join the family.
Edith taught herself English and then attended the Slade and Central School of Art, became involved with a group of left wing artists and was in 1933 a founder member of Artists International Association (AIA).
Hear her talk about the AIA
In 1934 she exhibited a portrait of the first committee of the AIA at an exhibition at 64 Charlotte Street London.
Her first book for children ‘Somersaults and Strange Company’ was published in 1934 and she began work on a novel ‘The Chosen’ while translating Arthur Koestler’s ‘The Gladiators’ into English. Her translation was later translated back into German when the original manuscript was lost.
In 1940 ‘The Chosen’ was published (to great critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic) although all but a few copies were destroyed in the blitz. Nothing daunted her and the second novel ‘Biting the Blue Finger’ was published in 1942 the year in which she met a scientist Eric Reeve. They were married shortly afterwards.
Eric and Edith moved to Edinburgh in 1947 where Eric took up a post with the new genetics department at Edinburgh University while Edith continued her career as author. She had 17 books published, contemporary novels, historical novels, and histories (see the book list below)
Listen to her talk about one book at "Luncheon at Sardi's"
The Artist
1969 began an increasing focus on art, with an exhibition at the Demarco Gallery in Edinburgh in 1970 followed in 1971 by an exhibition of mobile sculptures and papercut bas-relief pictures at Galerie Balans in Amsterdam and at the Stads Schourburg Galerie Tilbourg.
In 1972 Edith’s last book ‘The Anglo Saxon Manner’ was published.
From the first mobile sculptures and papercuts Edith went on to explore making drawings in one continuous line without lifting pen from paper, see-through pictures in translucent layers, sculpture in stained wood, ciment-fondue, vacuum formed perspex, cast polyester resin, cold-cast bronze, copper, aluminium, metal sheet, carved plaster, painted glass, painted chairs, baths, and murals in paint and wood veneer.
She had so many new ideas and techniques that it was hard to keep up. The continuous line pictures developed into three dimensions with resin supported rope being the continuous line, eventually Edith stopped doing the continuous line drawings when they were no longer enough of a challenge. The paper cuts increased in difficulty with more and more layers of different coloured paper. The layers had to be in the correct order to create the correct highlight and shadow tones, and so cutting down to the colour needed did not cause the whole set of outer layers to fall off. Edith therefore had to be able to “see” what the picture would look like, what colour went where and see the three dimensional set of colour layers in her mind’s eye, before she started on any picture.
She exhibited at the Edinburgh Festival every year until 2001 as well as exhibitions in London and Glasgow. (see the exhibition list below)
The last 8 years of her life were a battle against failing health – she worked attached to a long oxygen line, but was still producing a good number of papercuts.
Exhibitions
1970 | |
April | Untitled Demarco Gallery, Edinburgh |
1971 | |
12 June – 24 July | Mobile Sculptures, Papercuts, See Throughs Galerie Balans, Amsterdam |
21 August – 10 September | Mobile Sculptures, Papercuts and Continuous-line Stads Schourburg Galerie, Tilbourg |
1972 | |
26 August – 23 September | Mobile Sculptures Et Cetera Gardner Centre Gallery, University of Sussex |
1973 | |
18 May – 9 June | The Edith Simon Adventure Show Talbot Rice Art Centre, Edinburgh |
18 August – 8 September | The Edith Simon Adventure Show Chaplaincy Centre, University of Edinburgh |
15 November – 13 December | Scottish Society of Women Artists Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh Invited Artist - 20 works |
1974 | |
6–27 April | Edith Simon’s Wild Life Pittencrieff House Museum, Carnegie Trust, Dunfermline |
9–27 July | Edith Simon’s Open House Andsell Gallery, London |
19 August – 7 September | Knox by W Gordon Smith Costume design by Edith Simon |
1975 | |
22–25 January | The Admirable Crichton by J M Barrie Costume and set design by Edith Simon |
25 August – 13 September | Edith Simon’s Open House/Works Chamber of Commerce, Edinburgh |
1976 | |
25 August – 11 September | Creations & Recreations New Chaplaincy Student Centre, Edinburgh |
1977 | |
February | Pictures and Sculptures Grange Hotel, Edinburgh |
September | Selected Soft Sculptures City Art Centre, Leeds |
1978 | |
21 August – 9 September | Edith Simon WORKS Chamber of Commerce, Edinburgh |
1979 | |
Method in Diversity (three exhibitions) | |
5–16 February | Edith Simon – Paper Incarnations Paperpoint Gallery, London |
12 May – 1 June | Edith Simon – Morphallaxis Henderson Gallery, Edinburgh |
5–26 June | Edith Simon – Sculpture in a Garden Higham House, London |
1980 | |
24 June | New Work Compton Gallery, Windsor |
16 August – 6 September | Edith Simon’s Fifth Festival Exhibition Wildcat Theatre, Edinburgh |
14 September | National Health Service sculpture installed at Astley Ainslie Hospital, Edinburgh |
1981 | |
17 August – 5 September | Prospect and Restrospect Chambers Street House, Edinburgh |
25 October | Biffen Memorial sculptures installed, Plant Breeding Institute, Cambridge |
1982 | |
14 August – 11 September | Art is Alive and Well Chambers Street Centre, Edinburgh |
1983 | |
6–18 June | Glasgow Group, 26th Annual Exhibition McLellan Galleries, Glasgow (invited artist) |
22 August – 11 September | A Garden of People Chambers Street Centre, Edinburgh |
1984 | |
13 August – 1 September | What is New Chambers Street Centre, Edinburgh |
1985 | |
12 – 31 August | Moderation Be Damned Chambers Street Centre, Edinburgh |
1986 | |
30 July | Runners - sculpture and scalpel painting unveiled by HM Queen
Elizabeth Lammermuir House, Dunbar |
10–30 August | The Artist in Search of … Chambers Street Centre, Edinburgh |
1987 | |
Twenty pictures Scottish Art Club, Edinburgh |
|
22 April – 9 May | Maverick or Who’s Afraid of Edith Simon? Smith’s Gallery, London |
9–29 August | Maverick or Who’s Afraid of Edith Simon? Chambers Street Centre, Edinburgh |
1988 | |
14 August – 3 September | The Timeless Image Student Centre, Chaplaincy Centre, Edinburgh |
1989 | |
19 May | SSPCA Anniversary Gala Concert 1839–1989 Usher Hall, Edinburgh (souvenir programme design) |
7 August – 2 September | The New Underground Student Centre, Edinburgh |
1990 | |
2–24 March | People in Papercut & Sculpture Barclay Lennie Fine Art, Glasgow |
19 July – 16 August | Moderation Be Damned Discreetly Bizarre Gallery, London |
5 August – 1 September | Lovely Odd Fish Student Centre, Edinburgh |
1991 | |
23 April – 11 May | Signals Smith’s Gallery One, London |
4–31 August | Signals II Student Centre, Edinburgh |
1992 | |
12 August – 12 September | Edith Simon’s Brilliant Alternative Portrait Gallery Student Centre, Edinburgh |
1993 | |
18 May – 5 June | Discoveries Hyde Park Gallery, London |
17 August – 4 September | The Cutting Edge Student Centre, Edinburgh |
1994 | |
7 August – 3 September | Astonish Us Student Centre, Edinburgh |
1995 | |
6 August – 2 September | New Location – New Departures The Engine Shed, Edinburgh |
1996 | |
3 May – 7 June | Art IS THERAPY St Marylebone Centre, London |
11 August – 1 September | Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis Chaplaincy Centre, Edinburgh |
1997 | |
10–30 August | Edith Simon WORKS Chaplaincy Centre, Edinburgh |
1998 | |
2–29 August | Fearless Vigour Merchant Company Hall, Edinburgh |
1999 | |
8–28 August | ART @ Edith Simon 11 Grosvenor Crescent, Edinburgh |
2000 | |
6–26 August | Edith Simon ONCE AGAIN Northumberland Street, Edinburgh |
2001 | |
5–25 August | Edith Simon COME AGAIN Northumberland Street, Edinburgh |
Edith Simon (Edith Reeve), Edinburgh artist and exhibitor at the Edinburgh Festival for thirty years, author of seventeen books, died peacefully aged eighty-five on 7 January 2003. She donated her body to medical science. A memorial celebration was held on 8 February 2003. | |
2003 | |
10–25 August | Edith Simon Memorial Exhibition 11 Grosvenor Crescent, Edinburgh |
Books
The Adventures of the Little Pig and Other Stories F Le Groos & Ida Clarke, Victor Gollancz 1937 (children’s book illustrated by Edith Simon)
Somersaults and Strange Company (children’s book written and illustrated by ‘Edith’, Lawrence & Wishart 1937)
The Gladiators 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 1952; US edition Putnam 1951)
The Past Masters (UK edition Cassell 1953; US edition The House of Strangers Putnam 1953)
The Twelve Pictures (UK edition Cassell 1956; US edition Putnam 1955)
The Sable Coat (Cassell 1958)
The Piebald Standard: A Biography of the Knights Templar (UK edition Cassell 1959; US edition Putnam 1959)
The Undying Past ed. Orville Prescott (Doubleday) 1961 (p. 252 ‘The Witch and the Lord’ from The Golden Hand by Edith Simon)
The Great Forgery (UK edition Cassell 1962; US edition Little, Brown & Co. 1962)
The Making of Frederick the Great (UK edition Cassell 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, simultaneously in Canada 1965) (p. 118 ‘Moses in Midian’ and p.139 ‘The Flight from Egypt’ both from The Chosen by Edith Simon)
The Reformation (Time-Life 1966)
Die Reformation von Edith Simon und der Redaktion der Time-Life (Time-Life, including New York 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 1972)
The Makers of Modern Thought Horizon Books American Heritage Books – subsidiary of McGraw Hill 1972 (p. 65 ‘Martin Luther’ by Edith Simon)
‘Frederick II the Great of Prussia’, Encyclopaedia Britannica 1974 edition (contributor)
Plays
The Inimitable
Love Me, Scum
Film Script
A Perfect Marriage