Heinz Henghes
Other names: Gustav Heinrich Clusmann
Born 20 August 1906
Died 20 December 1975
Active: 1925 - 1975
Country of birth: Germany
Country of death: France
Sculptor, poet, writer on art
Heinz Henghes was born in Hamburg, Germany and was christened Gustav Heinrich Clusmann. In 1934 he took the name Heinz Henghes on the suggestion of a patron, Princess Katherine di San Faustino (the American artist and poet, usually known by the name Kay Sage). Henghes became interested in sculpture in 1925 as a result of working for Isamu Noguchi in New York. Until 1932, when Henghes moved back to Europe, he exhibited in New York and Baltimore as well as writing poetry.
Henghes was troubled by personal difficulties and attempted suicide in 1932. During the mid-1930s he did not settle, rather travelling to various countries in Europe and working sporadically with the support of Yves Tanguy, Ezra Pound, Kay Sage and Renato Wild among others.
In 1937 Henghes moved to London and made contact with Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Sandy Calder, Naum Gabo, Herbert Read and Adrian Stokes. He ultimately settled (primarily) in Britain and established a successful practice exhibiting regularly in London and elsewhere. However, as a German citizen and therefore forced to register as an alien in 1939, this was a slow process. After the war, Henghes taught sculpture at the Royal College of Art, London, and ran the sculpture course at Winchester College of Art from 1964-73. He also wrote for several journals on art and made broadcasts for the BBC. For many years, he divided his time between London and the Dordogne which he had first visited in 1938. Henghes died in Bordeaux.
A more detailed account of his life and works can be found at: http://www.henghes.org (accessed 10 December 2009).
Works
Dates are usually the year a work was exhibited so may differ from date of production.
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Seated group
1951
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, The One-Hundred-and-Twenty-Fifth, 1951
'Seated group'
Institutional and Business Connections
Teacher of modeling at Royal College of Art (including National Art Training School)
1949 - 1952 (Presumed)
Listed as a 'temporary tutor' in the School of Sculpture in the College's 1949-1950 and 1950-1951 prospectuses. Listed in the 1951-1952 prospectus as a a 'tutor'.
Sources
Royal College of Art Calendar and Prospectus, 1949-1950 Royal College of Art
1949
p. 21.
Royal College of Art Calendar, 1951-1952 Royal College of Art
1951
p. 8.
Citing this record
'Heinz Henghes', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib6_1211901432, accessed 10 Jun 2023]
