Chronology and connections
The life, exhibitions and friendships of Heinz Henghes. Switch to People to see who he knew and when. Choose a country to see only the years he spent there.
1906–1932
Hamburg to New York
Born Gustav Heinrich Clusmann in Hamburg, he stows away to New York at eighteen, works the docks and kitchens, and finds sculpture while modelling for Isamu Noguchi.
5 people: 2 sculptors, 0 artists, 2 writers, 1 others
Born 20 August in Hamburg, Germany, and christened Gustav Heinrich Clusmann
Prevents his mother from committing suicide
Stows away on board ship to New York after an earlier unsuccessful attempt
Works washing dishes in restaurants and loading cargo at the New York docks
Models for Isamu Noguchi (opens in a new tab) and gains an interest in sculpture
Writes prose and poetry. Meets EE Cummings (opens in a new tab), W.B. Yeats (opens in a new tab) and others
Noguchi (opens in a new tab) tells Henghes that he is much like Gaudier-Brzeska (opens in a new tab) as portrayed in "Savage Messiah"
Exhibits Marie Sterner; International; Downtown; Weyhe (all group shows)
Marries
Exhibits Friends of Art, Baltimore: first one-man show
Goes to Reno, Nevada, following his estranged wife. Attempts suicide and is confined to an asylum. Subsequently divorced
Leaves the USA for Germany
1933–1936
Italy and a new name
In Rapallo, Ezra Pound gives him materials and space to work. In Milan, Kay Sage names him Henghes and a run of Italian exhibitions follows.
5 people: 0 sculptors, 2 artists, 2 writers, 1 others
In Paris from May. Works as a guide at the Louvre
Exhibits Galerie de Paris
Goes to Rapallo in Italy. Meets Ezra Pound (opens in a new tab), who sets Henghes up with materials and space to sculpt. James Laughlin (opens in a new tab) is also in Rapallo
Moves to Milan. Meets Princess K di San Faustino (opens in a new tab) (K.S.F., later Kay Sage) and Renato Wild, who becomes a patron
Named as Henghes by K.S.F. (opens in a new tab) Meets Yves Tanguy (opens in a new tab)
1937–1952
Paris, London and war
Among the Surrealists in Paris and the modernists in London, then interned and shipped to Australia on the Dunera. Back in England he works for the BBC, teaches at the Royal College of Art and becomes British.
46 people: 11 sculptors, 13 artists, 10 writers, 12 others
Visits Paris. Meets Brancusi (opens in a new tab), Kandinsky (opens in a new tab)
Leaves Milan for Switzerland, where he thinks he may settle, but is only there for two months. Corresponds with Ezra Pound (opens in a new tab)
Goes to Paris for three months. Meets Henry Miller (opens in a new tab), Lawrence Durrell (opens in a new tab), Max Ernst (opens in a new tab), André Breton (opens in a new tab)
Anaïs Nin (opens in a new tab) writes of her relationship with Henghes. They are attracted, but she is deeply involved with Henry Miller (opens in a new tab) and Gonzalo More and calls herself a "vampire"
Introduces Kay Sage (opens in a new tab) to the surrealist painter Yves Tanguy (opens in a new tab), whom she will later marry
Arrives in England. Meets Barbara Hepworth (opens in a new tab), Ben Nicholson (opens in a new tab), Sandy Calder (opens in a new tab), Gabo (opens in a new tab), Herbert Read (opens in a new tab), Adrian Stokes (opens in a new tab)
Visits the Dordogne region of France in the company of Jean Genet (opens in a new tab). They stay at Domme
Featured in the Living Art in England edition of the London Bulletin alongside major sculptors of the day. Meets Prunella Clough (opens in a new tab)
Exhibits Guggenheim Jeune gallery, Cork Street, London
Writes on the naming of sculpture in the April London Bulletin
Writes for Adelphi, a magazine promoting peace, on the future of Europe, foreseeing the momentum towards European integration
Called up by Germany whilst in London, Henghes applies for British nationality. As hostilities threaten, he must wait until the war is over before this is possible, and is meanwhile registered as an alien
As a German citizen in Britain, Henghes is interned for a few months in Australia. He travels out on the notorious ship the "Dunera"; passengers include many artists and writers. Works on surrealist drawings. Meets Hein Heckroth (opens in a new tab), with whom he establishes a firm friendship, Klaus Friedeberger and others
Returns to England with help from Herbert Read (opens in a new tab). Works as an Air Raid Protection warden
Writes the play "Don Quixote"
Works for over eight years for the BBC with Elsa Knight Thompson (opens in a new tab) on the Radio Newsreel and the BBC Overseas Radio Service
Exhibits St George's Gallery, Grosvenor Street, London W1
Exhibits The Berkeley Galleries, 20 Davies Street, London W1
Exhibits Group show "Sculpture in the Home", organised by the Arts Council
Marries Daphne Gow, a ballet dancer with the Rambert Ballet
Exhibits Battersea Park Open Air Exhibition, LCC and Arts Council
Naturalised British, 10 October
James Laughlin (opens in a new tab), the founder of New Directions publishing, comes to stay on the first of many visits from America. They form a firm friendship and correspond for the rest of Henghes' life
Works under Frank Dobson (opens in a new tab) as a Lecturer in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art, London, alongside John Skeaping (opens in a new tab)
Exhibits Royal Society of British Artists, Suffolk Street (group show)
Controversy surrounds "Madonna and Child", a large marble sculpture commissioned for St Mary le Park church and seen by some as "pagan"
Exhibits Reading Religious Arts Festival, with "Crucifixion"
Exhibits Exposition Internationale en plein air de Sculpture, Anvers
Takes RCA students to the Dordogne to visit Lascaux and prehistoric sites
Arranges for publication of a brochure on cave drawings in English
Works on various radio broadcasts on art for the BBC
Exhibits Festival of Britain
Exhibits "Sculpture in the Home" at the Bristol City Art Gallery, with Henry Moore (opens in a new tab) and others
Exhibits Sculpture at Battersea Park, Arts Council
Buys a holiday cottage in the Dordogne, where he is attracted by the discovery of the Lascaux cave
Meets Michael Powell (opens in a new tab) the filmmaker through his friendship with Hein Heckroth (opens in a new tab), and subsequently does some work on props for films
Jean Genet (opens in a new tab) comes to London to have his bust made. The work is commissioned by Renato Wild
Changes his name by deed poll from Gustav Heinrich Clusmann to Henry Henghes
Friendly with the artists Barry Hart, Marc Clark, Roland Penrose (opens in a new tab)
1953–1963
The Dordogne
A house and studio in the Dordogne, close to the prehistoric sites. Friendships with archaeologists, commissions in France and Italy, and shows in Paris, London and New York.
8 people: 0 sculptors, 0 artists, 1 writers, 7 others
Moves to live in the Dordogne, France, at a newly bought house with a studio
"The First Thing", a short story, is published in New Directions anthology No. 14: half of a two-part novella written in 1930
Takes part in the "Unknown Political Prisoner" competition and show
Meets Prof. Hal Movius (opens in a new tab) of Harvard University, who is running a dig in Les Eyzies
Meets Abbé Henri Breuil (opens in a new tab), the prehistorian, of whom he later makes a bust
Eric Estorick (opens in a new tab) and Salome Estorick come to stay in Tursac
Exhibits Galerie Simone Badinier, Paris
Exhibits Hanover Gallery, London: Contemporary Sculpture (group show)
Lectures at the American Institute in Berlin on contemporary art in Europe and America. The lectures are organised by John McCormick
Completes a swimming pool surrounded by birds on columns in Como, Italy
Son, Ian, is born in Périgueux, France
Exhibits Hanover Gallery, London
Writes an article for Architectural Design
Exhibits Musée Rodin, "Histoires Naturelles" (group show)
Completes the Stations of the Cross for the church of Montpon in the Dordogne, France
Exhibits Piccadilly Gallery, 16a Cork Street, London
1964–1975
Winchester and after
Head of Fine Art at Winchester School of Art, then a late flourish: the Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions, the London Group and poetry in French. He dies in Bordeaux in December 1975.
14 people: 5 sculptors, 4 artists, 1 writers, 4 others
Appointed Head of Fine Art at Winchester School of Art, Henghes moves to England and helps the school to achieve diploma status. The sculptor Bob Holding joins Henghes to teach sculpture; they later share a studio
Meets Thomas Balogh (opens in a new tab) (later Lord Balogh) in France, and later sculpts a bust of him
Meets the painter Jenni Notton, then a student at Winchester
Exhibits 10 Sculptors, Two Cathedrals (group show)
Exhibits Kunstkammer, Hanover
Exhibits Archer Gallery, Grafton Street, London W1
Visits Henry Moore (opens in a new tab) near Forte dei Marmi with Jenni Notton. Sees the poet Brian Patten (opens in a new tab) and Mary Moore. Patten (opens in a new tab) later writes about Henghes
Exhibits Camden Arts Centre, London
Exhibits Nuffield Gallery, Southampton
Exhibits Two by Seven, Archer Gallery (group show)
Exhibits Guildhall Picture Gallery, Winchester: show with Robert Holding
Retires from Winchester School of Art, where he was latterly Head of the Sculpture School
Exhibits The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
Exhibits Sculpture at South Hill Park, Bracknell (group show)
Represented by Jean Pierre Lehman
Joins the London Group
Exhibits The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
Exhibits Château-l'Évêque and Sarlat, Dordogne
Dies in Bordeaux on 20 December