Hugh Parker Guiler (February 15, 1898 – January 7, 1985), also known as Ian Hugo, was

Anaïs Nin Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell ( ; ; February 21, 1903 – January 14, 1977) was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and erotica. Born to Cuban parents in France, Nin was the d ...

's husband from 1923 until her death in 1977, and a skilled engraver and filmmaker in his own right.

Biography

Guiler was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Hugh Cheyne Guiler and Meta Parker Guiler. He had a brother John and two sisters Edith and Ethel. He lived in Puerto Rico as a child, and went to school in Scotland. He graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

,
Ian Hugo where he studied economics and literature. He was working at National City Bank when he met Anaïs Nin. They married in March 1923. In 1924, they moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and in that city Nin wrote the best-known part of her famous diary. In 1939, shortly before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Parker and Nin moved back to New York City. In 1940, he took up engraving and etching, studying under

Stanley William Hayter Stanley William Hayter (27 December 1901 – 4 May 1988) was an English painter and master printmaker associated in the 1930s with surrealism and from 1940 onward with abstract expressionism. Regarded as one of the most significant printmakers ...

Atelier 17 Atelier 17 was an art school and studio that was influential in the teaching and promotion of printmaking in the 20th century. Originally located in Paris, the studio relocated to New York City during the years surrounding World War II. It moved ...

in Paris, producing surreal images that often accompanied Nin's books. He also received instruction in filmmaking from

Alexander Hammid Alexandr Hackenschmied, born Alexander Siegfried George Hackenschmied, known later as Alexander Hammid (17 December 1907 – 26 July 2004), was a Czech-American photographer, film director, cinematographer and film editor. He immigrated to the ...

, who told Guiler: "Use the camera yourself, make your own mistakes, make your own style". He used the name Ian Hugo in the 1940s when he began making

experimental films Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that does not apply standard cinematic conventions, instead adopting Non-narrative film, non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many e ...

, some starring Nin. His successful banking career supported the artistic work of not only his wife but also her lover,

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, so ...

, and to a lesser extent various others. His unusual tolerance and unconditional love, as well as his income, made Anaïs's work and life possible for many years. Then during the couple’s old age, this economic relationship flipped. Starting in 1966, when the first of Anaïs’s diaries was published, her late-life literary success provided crucial financial support for them both. None of Guiler’s artistic endeavors was ever financially successful. His film ''Bells of Atlantis'' (1952) features a soundtrack of

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

by Louis and Bebe Barron, and stars Nin as a mythical queen of Atlantis. In ''Jazz of Lights'' (1954), also featuring a score by the Barrons, the street lights of

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

become, in Nin's words, "an ephemeral flow of sensations." Hugo lived the last two decades of his life in New York City, dictating his memoirs and continuing his engraving and filmmaking work. He briefly met Nin's other husband,

Rupert Pole Rupert Pole (February 18, 1919 – July 15, 2006) was an American actor and the husband of author Anaïs Nin, as well as her literary executor. Early life and education Pole was born in Los Angeles. His father, Reginald, was a highly regarded S ...

, (Nin was a bigamist) after Nin's death in 1977. Even though Nin and Pole's 1955 marriage was annulled in 1966, Pole was Nin's

literary executor The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film rights, film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially ...

after her death; after Guiler's death, Pole scattered his ashes at the same place as Nin's, a cove on the coast at Santa Monica.

Selected filmography (as Ian Hugo)

*''Ai-Ye'' (1950) *''Bells of Atlantis'' (1952) *''Jazz of Lights'' (1954) *''Melodic Inversion'' (1958) *''The Gondola Eye'' (1963–71) *''Through the Magiscope'' (1969) *''Apertura'' (1970) *''Aphrodisiac I'' (1971) *''Aphrodisiac II'' (1972) *''Ian Hugo: Engraver and Filmmaker'' (1972) *''Levitation'' (1972) *''Transmigration'' (1973) *''Transcending'' (1974) *''Luminiscence'' (1977) made with Arnold S. Eagle *''Reborn'' (1979)

References

External links

*
Fox, Margalit. (July 30, 2006). "Rupert Pole, 87, Diarist's Duplicate Spouse, Dies", ''The New York Times''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hugo, Ian 1898 births 1985 deaths American experimental filmmakers American printmakers Atelier 17 alumni