Robert Waterhouse

"Their Safe Haven" explores the lives and work of 14 little-known Hungarian artists who chose Britain as their home in the 1930s, fleeing National Socialism. It shows their contribution to British culture, laying the groundwork for compatriots who arrived in 1956 following Moscow's crushing of the Hungarian Uprising. In both eras Britain proved itself a welcoming host nation. But what of today?

Robert Waterhouse first met the Hungarian artist Jean-Georges Simon in 1960 and became one of a group of friends keeping his British work together following Simon's death in 1968. Exhibitions in Wakefield, London and Budapest were complemented by the book "Jean-Georges Simon, Hungary to England: an Artist's Odyssey" published in 2005.

Simon, who married an English wife Patricia and lived his last 25 years in Harrogate, was one émigré Hungarian artist, but what of others?

Robert Waterhouse came across a catalogue of a small graphics show in April 1943 at the Hungarian Club, London W2, in which 14 Hungaro-British artists (Simon included) participated. All had come to Britain before 1939 and all but one became British citizens.

Patchworked together from interviews and archives in Budapest, Vienna, London and around the UK, incorporating forgotten images, unpublished diaries and out-of-print texts, "Their Safe Haven" rediscovers artists for whom Britain proved a genuine alternative to the ills of twentieth century Hungary, showing just how much they gave to their adopted country.

Sarah MacDougall, Director, Ben Uri Gallery and Museum, wrote in the book's foreword that it "brings the artists' experiences vividly to life...and in doing so pays justice to the distinct and memorable Hungarian contribution to British visual culture."

Learn more about the book on our website theirsafehaven.com

Baquis Press was created in 2007 by Robert and Jane Waterhouse to publish illustrated books by Gem Art, a group of young Ethiopian artists Jane works with in Addis Ababa. We have also published "Steps for Life", a history of the leading Ethiopian healthcare NGO founded by Leonard Cheshire, and "Singular People", how journalist Ian Breach's career led him to conduct 1,000 Humanist ceremonies.

New from Baquis Press: Baquis Little Books

Published March 2022 - George Buday's Surreal fairy tales by Nora Veszpremi, introduced by George Szirtes; George Buday's Cries of London introduced by Robert Waterhouse; Jean-Georges Simon's Paris 1925 by Ferenc Matits.

Published March 2021 - Henry Ripszam's Habima drawings by Olga Levitan; George Mayer-Marton's Murals & mosaics by Clare Willsdon; Jean-Georges Simon's Women by Robert Waterhouse.

Photo of Robert Waterhouse beside a statue by a non-Hungarian (Pablo Picasso) by Michael McNay