Daphne Hardy Henrion
Encyclopedia
Daphne Hardy Henrion (20 October 1917 – 30 October 2003) was a British sculptor, a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors and an intimate of the writer Arthur Koestler
.
, Buckinghamshire, to Major Clive Hardy, a diplomat, and his wife Judith. Between 1923 and 1931 she was educated in The Hague
and at French and German schools. She left school aged 14 to study art privately in the Netherlands
for a year with Marian Gobius and Albert Termote.
From 1934 to 1937 she attended the Royal Academy Schools in London. In 1937 she scooped a Gold Medal and Travelling Scholarship which took her in 1938 to France and Italy
. In the summer of 1939 in Paris, through mutual friends she met the Hungarian writer Arthur Koestler
and they became close. Her life with him just before and after the outbreak of the Second World War is described in Koestler’s autobiography Scum of the Earth
in which she appears as ‘G’. At the outbreak of the war in 1939 she was translating into English Koestler’s anti-Communist manuscript that he was writing in German. In the chaos following the declaration of war and the subsequent harassment and internment of Koestler by the French, she managed to save a copy of the translation and smuggle it to England in 1940, where in the following year it was published under the title Darkness at Noon
. The title for the book was her idea.
During the war she worked for the Ministry of Information and after her release she began to establish her artistic reputation with a number of solo exhibitions and also with exhibits at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
s.
In 1947 she married the graphic designer Henri Kay Henrion
but left him in the 1970s. They had two sons and a daughter.
From 1980 she was a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors.
Her bust of Arthur Koestler was shown at the Royal Academy
in 1984. Bronze casts of the bust were acquired by the National Portrait Gallery and the Koestler Foundation. She kept on working until failing eyesight in her eighties stopped her sculpting.
Arthur Koestler
Arthur Koestler CBE was a Hungarian author and journalist. Koestler was born in Budapest and, apart from his early school years, was educated in Austria...
.
Life
She was born Daphne Hardy in 1917 in AmershamAmersham
Amersham is a market town and civil parish within Chiltern district in Buckinghamshire, England, 27 miles north west of London, in the Chiltern Hills. It is part of the London commuter belt....
, Buckinghamshire, to Major Clive Hardy, a diplomat, and his wife Judith. Between 1923 and 1931 she was educated in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
and at French and German schools. She left school aged 14 to study art privately in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
for a year with Marian Gobius and Albert Termote.
From 1934 to 1937 she attended the Royal Academy Schools in London. In 1937 she scooped a Gold Medal and Travelling Scholarship which took her in 1938 to France and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. In the summer of 1939 in Paris, through mutual friends she met the Hungarian writer Arthur Koestler
Arthur Koestler
Arthur Koestler CBE was a Hungarian author and journalist. Koestler was born in Budapest and, apart from his early school years, was educated in Austria...
and they became close. Her life with him just before and after the outbreak of the Second World War is described in Koestler’s autobiography Scum of the Earth
Scum of the Earth
Scum of the Earth is a heavy metal band. They have produced two albums. The band formed in 2003 when Rob Zombie set aside his music career, focusing on writing and directing movies...
in which she appears as ‘G’. At the outbreak of the war in 1939 she was translating into English Koestler’s anti-Communist manuscript that he was writing in German. In the chaos following the declaration of war and the subsequent harassment and internment of Koestler by the French, she managed to save a copy of the translation and smuggle it to England in 1940, where in the following year it was published under the title Darkness at Noon
Darkness at Noon
Darkness at Noon is a novel by the Hungarian-born British novelist Arthur Koestler, first published in 1940...
. The title for the book was her idea.
During the war she worked for the Ministry of Information and after her release she began to establish her artistic reputation with a number of solo exhibitions and also with exhibits at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
Royal Academy summer exhibition
The Summer Exhibition is an open art exhibition held annually by the Royal Academy in Burlington House, Piccadilly in central London, England, during the summer months of June, July, and August...
s.
In 1947 she married the graphic designer Henri Kay Henrion
Henri Kay Henrion
Henri Kay Henrion , was a German graphic designer.After leaving school he went to Paris, and worked in textile design sweatshop before studying with poster designer Paul Colin. In 1936 he moved instead to England, to work in poster design. He designed a Modern Architectural Research Group of...
but left him in the 1970s. They had two sons and a daughter.
From 1980 she was a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors.
Her bust of Arthur Koestler was shown at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
in 1984. Bronze casts of the bust were acquired by the National Portrait Gallery and the Koestler Foundation. She kept on working until failing eyesight in her eighties stopped her sculpting.