Robert Helman French-Romanian, 1910-1990

  • Overview
    Robert Helman in his studio boulevard du Montparnasse, Paris, France, 1963. Photo : Henri Tullio
    Robert Helman in his studio boulevard du Montparnasse, Paris, France, 1963. Photo : Henri Tullio

    The Gallery represents the Estate of the artist Robert Helman since 2023 and works closely with the Robert Helman Archives.

    Robert Helman was a major painter in the Parisian art scene in the post-war period. A French artist born into a Jewish family in Romania, Helman drew on his personal journey of migration and exile, as well as his relationship with nature, for inspiration. The artist’s series Genèses, Soleils, Arbres and Forêts, among others, bear witness to his desire to reinvent the world after the trauma of war.

  • Works
  • Video
  • Exhibitions
  • Publications
  • Biography
    Robert Helman in front of his studio rue Boissonade, Montparnasse, Paris, France. Photo : Henri Tullio
    Robert Helman in front of his studio rue Boissonade, Montparnasse, Paris, France. Photo : Henri Tullio

    FROM CHILDHOOD IN ROMANIA TO STUDIES IN PARIS

    Robert Helman was born on 9 February 1910 in Galati, Romania, where the Danube joins the Black Sea. His mother, meanwhile, was the president of an orphanage. She played a key role in his education, first hiring a violin teacher for her son – who showed no interest in music – and then an art teacher to give instruction in drawing and painting, lessons that would spark a real passion in the child.

    Helman, who had been immersed in French culture through childhood, obtained his baccalaureate at the age of 17, at which point he expressed a desire to go to France for a university education. Quotas had been introduced in Romania at that time limiting the number of Jews that could be admitted to universities in the country. Helman’s parents accepted his decision on the condition that he studied law or medicine, which he did, enrolling at the Faculty of Law on his arrival in Paris in July 1927. The young student quickly became an activist, developing close connections with Trotskyist students such as the future writer and editor Maurice Nadeau, whose portrait Helman would later paint.

    Robert Helman graduated with a law degree in 1931. During a trip back to his hometown, the young graduate met Zéna Jolles, who was also a student in Paris. Back in the French capital, they campaigned for political causes together, engaging in lengthy discussions about the Spanish war and the rise of Nazism in Germany. Zéna and Robert married in Romania in 1936, after which they returned to Paris where the latter worked for some time as a lawyer.

     

    EXILE IN BARCELONA

    In September 1939, Robert Helman volunteered for the French Army but was not enlisted because he was a Romanian citizen. Thanks to their connections with Trotskyist circles, Zéna and Robert were warned in advance of Hitler’s offensive in France and decided to leave Paris immediately to take refuge in Barcelona. The couple were able to cross the border with the help of false baptismal certificates obtained from the parish priest of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés church in Paris.

    The couple found themselves destitute and had to sell their personal possessions and wedding rings. It was particularly difficult for them to find work because neither Zéna nor Robert could speak Spanish. Zéna found a job as an assistant in a hospital nonetheless, while Robert had to take on casual work waiting tables and delivering goods, among other odd jobs, despite his law degree. The couple met many refugees in Barcelona who were settling in Spain or travelling to Portugal or South America. Just as it had during the First World War, Barcelona welcomed many European artists during this period.

    It was in this climate that Robert Helman began experimenting with painting. Looking for work, he entered a cobbler’s shop to make inquiries. The cobbler asked him what he liked to do, and Helman replied that he liked to paint but had no money for materials. The cobbler gave him some money and commissioned him to create a work of art. Helman painted a still life of flowers, which the cobbler immediately sold for twice the amount given to the artist. As the artist recalled, “That was the beginning of my career as a painter.”

    An excellent portrait painter, Robert Helman thus began to earn a living in Barcelona through his painting. He met the painter Jaime A. Colson, a professor at the Barcelona School of Fine Arts, who taught him fresco techniques and invited him to join the artists’ collective “Los artistas de la Campana de San Gervasio”. The group, which took its name from the café where its members met, included the artists Joan Vilató and Josep Vilató (nephews of Pablo Picasso), Joan Ponç, Antoni Tápies, Modest Cuixart, José María de Sucre and the poet Joan Brossa, as well as the art critic Arnau Puig. In 1945, Helman’s work was shown for the first time in Barcelona in several galleries. The artist had his first solo exhibition in the city at the Galerias Pictoria in November.

     

    RETURN TO PARIS

    After the Liberation of France, Zéna and Robert Helman returned to Paris, where the latter devoted himself entirely to painting. Robert moved into the former studio of a friend – the painter Emmanuel Mané-Katz, whom he had met in Barcelona –, taking up residence at 255 Boulevard Raspail in Paris’ Montparnasse district. Zéna Helman, meanwhile, joined Professor Henri Wallon’s child psychobiology team. The couple had lost many friends during the war but were reunited with the publisher Maurice Nadeau, who wrote texts for Robert’s exhibitions. The couple’s son Henri was born in 1947. That year, Robert Helman had solo exhibitions in Paris at the Galerie Berri-Raspail and in Algeria at the Galerie Alsace-Lorraine in Oran and the Galerie Le Nombre d’Or in Algiers.

    The year 1948 was marked by a number of important encounters for Robert Helman, who met the Spanish painters Óscar Domínguez and Antoni Clavé as well as the Romanian painter Victor Brauner and the French-Algerian painter Jean-Michel Atlan. This community of artists met at Le Dôme, La Coupole, Le Select, and other cafés in the French capital, which was playing host to numerous foreign artists at the time. That year, Robert Helman exhibited several times at the Galerie Breteau, notably alongside Jean-Michel Atlan, Pierre Soulages, Hans Hartung, Óscar Domínguez and Henri Goetz, among others.

    In 1949, Robert Helman and Emmanuel Mané-Katz created a mural – The Tree, 1.30 x 2.10 m – for the Botanical Library in Netanya, Israel. Robert Helman then moved to Saint-Paul-de-Vence in the south of France, where he became friends with the poet André Verdet. The painter only stayed there for eight months, prevented from painting, he said, by the light of the south.

    Zéna and Robert Helman became naturalised French citizens on 15 July 1950. Zéna joined the French National Centre for Scientific Research as a research associate at the Hôpital Sainte-Anne in the electroencephalography department.

     

    PIVOTAL ENCOUNTERS

    Robert Helman’s first monograph was published in 1951 by Les Gémeaux as part of a collection entitled “Les Artistes du temps présent” written by Jean Bouret. In 1952, the painter met the Italian art critic Giuseppe Marchiori who organised a solo exhibition for him at the Galleria Sandri in Venice.

    Robert Helman and his son Henri travelled to Canada in 1953. Robert’s parents had moved there after the war and the artist wanted to be with his father, who was undergoing an operation at the time. In Montreal, Robert met the collectors Romeck and Lorette Shefner, who would acquire many of Robert Helman’s works over the next thirty years, creating the largest body of his work in Canada. The painter also had numerous solo exhibitions in Canada.

    Robert Helman met Alexander and Stella Margulies in 1955 through his friend Emmanuel Mané-Katz. The prominent London collectors would make annual acquisitions of Robert’s work for more than fifteen years. In the same year, Robert Helman participated in the Salon de Mai and took part in group exhibitions at the Galerie Charpentier and Galerie 73 in Paris. Jean Cocteau – a friend of the artist – bought one of his works, saying: “Your canvas is a landscape where nature and the mind have intimately entwined their essential rhythms.” Robert Helman also met the gallery owner Henri Bénézit, who showed his work on many occasions.

    In 1958, Robert Helman moved into the former studio of his friend, the painter Óscar Domínguez, at 83 Boulevard du Montparnasse. During the same period, he became friends with the art critic Pierre Restany, who helped to promote his work in France and Italy. In October 1959, Robert Helman’s second monograph was published by Georges Fall as part of a collection entitled “Le Musée de poche” written by Philippe Soupault. The Tate Gallery in London acquired a work by Robert Helman in that same year.

    In 1961, Robert Helman met the dealer Gualtieri di San Lazzaro, who would become a friend and show his work at the Galerie du XXe Siècle. The dealer Beno d’Incelli showed Helman’s artwork many times at his Paris gallery from 1962 onwards, alongside works by Jean Dubuffet, Jean Fautrier, André Lanskoy and Serge Poliakoff. In 1963, the artist developed a relationship with Jean Bauchet, the owner of the MoulinRouge and several casinos. An art connoisseur, Bauchet built up the largest collection of Robert Helman’s work in France. Helman also met Harrison and Sonia Eiteljorg – American patrons of the arts whose collection would form the Indianapolis Museum of Art – who acquired many of the painter’s works. From 1964 onwards, the painter’s artworks were regularly exhibited at the Galerie Renée Laporte alongside works by artists such as Olivier Debré, Ladislas Kijno, André Marfaing and Joseph Sima.

     

    THE ARTIST’S STUDIO IN CHAMPAGNE

    In 1962, Robert Helman visited the Champagne region of France with his friend, the painter Albert Bitran, who wanted to buy a house there. Helman fell in love with the forest of Othe, which reminded him of landscapes from his childhood on the banks of the Danube. He bought a property in the region, which became his summer studio and then his main residence towards the end of his life.

    In 1966, Helman met the art dealer Allan Rich who invited him to participate in the opening of his new gallery – the Stewart-Verde Gallery – in San Francisco. Robert Helman then travelled to Mexico where he discovered wood bark paper, the ideal material for an artist inspired by nature and the forest in particular. He brought a hundred leaves of bark paper back to France and used them for a series of works on trees.

    Robert Helman then moved into the former studio of the painter Antoni Clavé at 45 Rue Boissonade – in the 14th arrondissement of the French capital – which he occupied until the end of his life. He left his former Paris studio at 83 Boulevard du Montparnasse to his son Henri, who was then a film student at the Louis-Lumière film school.

    In 1969, the Museum of Modern Art in Tel Aviv dedicated a retrospective exhibition to Helman’s work with a catalogue containing texts by Philippe Soupault, Jacques Lassaigne, Giuseppe Marchiori, Georges Boudaille and Pierre Restany. During this stay in Israel, the artist created a series of tapestries which he exhibited in New York at the Greer Gallery in 1972. Helman created a second series of tapestries in 1973 at the Aubusson tapestry workshop.

    In 1975, a third monograph devoted to Helman and written by Max-Pol Fouchet was published by Cercle d’Art. In 1981, the artist met the German gallery owner Wolfgang Gunther who gave him the opportunity to exhibit his work regularly in Germany for many years. In 1983, Robert Helman had his first major retrospective exhibition at the Orangerie de Bagatelle in Paris, organised by Françoise Marquet, curator at the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris.

    Robert Helman lost his left eye while opening a bottle of champagne at the age of 73 in 1983. Greatly impaired by the surgical procedures that followed, the artist resumed painting a few months later – once again depicting suns, a theme of his early works. In 1987, the painter received the art historian Lydia Harambourg at his studio as she was preparing her Dictionnaire des peintres de l’École de Paris, which was published in 1993.

    In 1988, Robert Helman took up permanent residence in his house in Champagne, where he created metal sculptures that were then exhibited at the Galerie Michèle Heyraud and the Galerie La Pochade in Paris. The following year, Helman signed a contract with the Galerie Eterso in Cannes, which bought some of his artworks and showed them alongside works by Olivier Debré, Hans Hartung and Gérard Schneider.

    On 9 February 1990, the artist Robert Helman celebrated his 80th birthday at the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain at the invitation of the foundation’s director Marie-Claude Beaud. Robert Helman died on 7 November 1990 at his home in Champagne, France.

  • COLLECTIONS (SELECTION)

    Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, Château-Musée

    Carros, France, Centre international d’art contemporain

    Chiasso, Switzerland, Spazio Officina - m.a.x. museo

    Colmar, France, Musée Unterlinden

    Dijon, France, Musée des beaux-arts

    Indianapolis IN, United States, Indianapolis Museum of Art

    Jerusalem, Israel, The Israel Museum

    London, United Kingdom, Ben Uri Gallery and Museum

    London, United Kingdom, Tate Modern

    Paris, France, Fonds d’art contemporain – Paris collection

    Paris, France, Fonds national d’art contemporain

    Paris, France, Musée d’art moderne de Paris

    Paris, France, Musée national d’art moderne – Centre Pompidou

    Sens, France, Musées de Sens

    Stuttgart, Germany, Stadtmuseum

    Tel Aviv, Israel, Tel Aviv Museum of Art

    Troyes, France, Museum of Modern Art

    Turin, Italy, Galleria Civica d’Arte moderna e contemporanea

  • EXHIBITIONS (SELECTION)

    Group exhibition, Bayon, Rutta Block de Rosenstingl, Calderon, E. Castells, J. Colson, M. Fargas, Fret, Gabino, Grandara, Helman, Hubert Vallmitjana, J.O. Jansana, T. Kurimoto, Olive Busquets, Sanjuan, José M. de Sucre, Galerias Reig, Barcelona, Spain, 1945

    Solo exhibition, Galerias Pictoria, Barcelona, Spain, 1945

    Solo exhibition, Galerie Berri-Raspail, Paris, France, 1947

    Solo exhibition, Galerie Alsace-Lorraine, Oran, Algeria, 1947

    Solo exhibition, Galerie Le Nombre d’or, Algiers, Algeria, 1947

    Solo exhibition, Galerie Breteau, Paris, France, 1948

    Group exhibition, Les Six Jours, Atlan, Boumeester, Smadja, Soulages, Bertholle, Beyer, Le Moal, Manessier, Bott, Dominguez, Hartung, Picasso, Guita, Goetz, Loubchansky, Shoffer, Helman, Moisset, Parra, Vanier, Jacobsen, Gilioli, Leleu, Étienne-Martin, Galerie Breteau, Paris, France, 1948

    Solo exhibition, Galerie Colline, Oran, Algeria, 1948

    Solo exhibition, Galerie Louis Manteau, Brussels, Belgium, 1949

    Solo exhibition of watercolors, Galerie Mouradian et Valloton, Paris, France, 1952

    Solo exhibition, Incontro con Robert Helman, Galleria Sandri, Venice, Italy, 1952

    Solo exhibition, Galerie Agnès Lefort, Montreal, Canada, 1954

    Solo exhibition, Galerie Elisabeth Nelson, Chicago IL, United States, 1954

    Group exhibition, Artistes d’aujourd’hui : Évolution, Musée d’art moderne de la ville de Paris, Paris, France, 1955

    Group exhibition, L’École de Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Paris, France, 1955

    Group exhibition, Aïzpiri, Beaulieu, Calmettes, Clavé, Condoy, Cortot, Dominguez, Nita Flores, Helman, Galerie 73, Paris, France, 1955

    Solo exhibition, Galerie Octobon, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, 1955

    Solo exhibition, Galerie Henri Bénézit, Paris, France, 1955, 1957

    Group exhibition, Atlan, Chapoval, Garbell, Janson, Helman, Lanskoy, Pichette, Tal Coat, Galerie Henri Bénézit, Paris, France, 1956-1957

    Group exhibition, Henri Bénézit et Éraste Touraou présentent : Atlan, Chapoval, Helman, Lanskoy, Pichette, Tal Coat, Galerie Ex-Libris, Brussels, Belgium, 1957

    Group exhibition, Galerie Dina Vierny, Paris, France, 1957

    Group exhibition, Anthoons, Chapoval, Chavignier, Corneille, Doucet, Garbell, Guitet, Helman, Pichette, Sugaï, Galerie Muratore, Nice, France, 1957

    Group exhibition, Atlan, Chapoval, Garbell, Janson, Pichette, Caillaud, Duault, Helman, Lanskoy, Tal Coat, André Verdet, Galerie Sous-Barri, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, 1957

    Group exhibition, Artistes juifs contemporains de France, Atlan, Chagall, Mané-Katz, Michonze, Zack, Helman, Ben Uri Gallery, London, United Kingdom, 1957

    Solo exhibition, Galleria Apollinaire, Milan, Italy, 1958

    Solo exhibition, Galleria Blu, Milan, Italy, 1958

    Solo exhibition, Nicole Gallery, New York NY, United States, 1958

    Mostra Internazionale de Pittura - XI Primo Lissone 1959, Museo Del Premio Lissone, Lissone, Italy, 1959

    Solo exhibition of ink, gouaches and drawings, La Hune, bookstore-gallery, Paris, France, 1959

    Group exhibition, L’École de Paris : cinq critiques désignent sept artistes, Buffet, Pignon, Masson, Istrati, Helman, Galerie Charpentier, Paris, France, 1959

    Group exhibition, Sept peintres de l’École de Paris, Adamoff, Helman, Abidine, Arbas, Lan-Bar, Orazi, Klieman, Galerie Pego’s, Montreal, Canada, 1960

    Solo exhibition, Nicole Gallery, New York NY, United States, 1960

    Traveling exhibition through the United Kingdom, (The Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne; The Art Gallery, Southampton; The National Museum of Wales, Cardiff; The Art Gallery, Aberdeen; The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow; The Ferens Art Gallery, Kingston-upon-Hall; The City Museum & Art Gallery, Birmingham; The Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool) organized by the Arts Council, The Margulies Collection: New Paintings From Paris, United Kingdom, 1960-1961

    Group exhibition, Bellegarde, Halpern, Helman, Krajcberg, Orazi, Cave-Galerie Jeanne Fillon, Paris, France, 1961

    Solo exhibition, Galerie du XXe siècle, Paris, France, 1961

    Solo exhibition, La Forêt, Galleria Blu, Milan, Italy, 1961

    Group exhibition, Galerie Jacques Martin, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, 1961

    Solo exhibition, Galerie Parti-Pris, Grenoble, France, 1961

    Group exhibition, Exposition des artistes de la galerie : Atlan, Dubuffet, Fautrier, Helman, Lanskoy, Maryan, Messagier, Poliakoff, Rebeyrolle, Riopelle, Tal Coat, Wols, Galerie Beno d’Incelli, Paris, France, 1962

    Group exhibition, La Collezione di un Bambino, Galleria Il Traghetto, Venice, Italy, 1962

    Traveling exhibition, Exhibition of recent acquisitions, seventh collection 1962 Prior to

    dispatch to Israel, Ben Uri Gallery, London, United Kingdom, Tel Aviv Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1962

    Solo exhibition, La Forêt, Galleria Il Canale, Venice, Italy, 1962

    Group exhibition, Helman, Music, Pignon Poliakoff, Galerie II Centro, Naples, Italy, 1962

    Group exhibition, Aïzpini, Beaulieu, Calmettes, Clavé, Condoy, Cortot, Dominguez, Flores, Nita Flores, Helman, Enriguez, Labasgue, Mané-Katz, Newman, Peinado, Elsa Pelayo, Tejero, Vines, Wogensky, Taborda, Galerie 73, Paris, France, 1962

    Mostra Mercato Nazionale d’Arte Contemporanea, Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy, 1963

    Solo exhibition, Galleria Il Centro, Naples, Italy, 1963

    Solo exhibition, Robert Helman, Jardins et Forêts, Casino du Liban, Beirut, Lebanon, 1963

    Solo exhibition, La Forêt, Galerie Cavalero, Cannes, France, 1963

    Solo exhibition, Galerie Hilt, Basel, Switzerland, 1963

    Group exhibition, Painting and Sculpture Today, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis IN, United States, 1964

    Solo exhibition, Galerie Lutz et Meyer, Stuttgart, Germany, 1964

    Group exhibition, Caillaud, Chavignier, Clavé, Dumitresco, Helman, Istrati, Galerie Beno d’Incelli, Paris, France, 1964

    Solo exhibition, La Sala Gaspar, Barcelona, Spain, 1964

    Solo exhibition, Galerie Beno d’Incelli, Paris, France, 1965, 1968, 1972

    Solo exhibition, Galerie Stewart-Verde, San Francisco CA, United States, 1966

    Solo exhibition, Musée municipal de Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, 1967

    Group exhibition, Robert Helman et Marcello Avenalli, Galleria Santa Maria, Rome, Italy, 1967

    Solo exhibition, L’Entracte, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1969

    Solo exhibition, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1969

    Group exhibition, Présence européenne, Galleria La Bussola, Turin, Italy, 1971

    Group exhibition, Pintores de Paris, Bryen, Dufy, Fautrier, Helman, landskoy, Pignon, Vieira da Silva, Ateneu commercial do Porto, Galeria Dinastia Lisbon, Galeria Alvarez, Porto, Portugal, 1971

    Group exhibition, Un peintre Robert Helman (peintures et tapisseries), un sculpteur Nardo Dunchi (marbres), Allan Rich Gallery, New York NY and Greer Gallery, New York NY, United States, 1972

    Solo exhibition, Galleria Procolo, Castellana Grotte, Italy, 1972

    Solo exhibition, Peintures et tapisseries sur le thème de la forêt : 1957-1972, Château-Musée, Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, 1973

    Solo exhibition, Galleria La Seggiola, Salerno, Italy, 1973

    Solo exhibition, Robert Helman : Peintures et Gouaches, Galerie Albert Verbeke, Paris, France, 1974

    Solo exhibition, Robert Helman : Tapisseries et Écorces, Galerie Jacques Verrière, Paris, France, 1974

    Solo exhibition, Kar Gallery, Toronto, Canada, 1974

    Solo exhibition, Galleria Interarte, Genoa, Italy, 1974

    Group exhibition, 10th Exhibition of Anglo-French Contemporary Portraiture, Ben Uri Gallery, London, United Kingdom, 1974

    Solo exhibition, Robert Helman, Galerie Sapone, Nice, France, 1974

    Solo exhibition, Helman, Galerie la Seggoli, Salerno, Italy, 1974

    Solo exhibition, Musée de l’Outil, Troyes, France, 1975

    Group exhibition, Maestri contemporanei : Appel, Brindisi, Calabria, Cassinari, Corneille, Dorazio, Guerricchio, Guttuso, Hartung, Helman, Lam, Migneco, Treccani, Vespignani, Galleria La Seggiola, Salerno, Italy, 1975

    Solo exhibition, Galerie Albert Verbeke, Paris, France, 1975

    Solo exhibition, Galerie Frédéric Gollong, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, 1975

    Traveling group exhibition, Trente créateurs, Sélection 76, Trente créateurs d’aujourd’hui pour comprendre l’art qui se fait, Galerie Convergence, Nantes, Galerie Expression - Claude Bollak, Strasbourg, Galerie Cimaise , Bourg-en-Bresse, Galerie Frédéric Gollong, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Musée d’Avallon, Avallon, Musée de Melun, Melun, Centre Léonard de Vinci , Bordeaux, Galerie Protée, Toulouse, Galerie Yvon Gay, Honfleur, France, 1976-1977

    Solo exhibition of engravings and gouaches, Artcurial, Paris, France, 1977

    Group exhibition, Meubles Tableaux, Centre national d’art contemporain, Musée Beaubourg, Paris, France, 1977

    Solo exhibition, Gordon Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1977

    Solo exhibition, Galleria Guglielmo Tell, Chiasso, Switzerland, 1977

    Group exhibition, Le paysage intérieur, aujourd’hui, Château de Vesvres, France, 1978

    Group exhibition, Jewish Art : peintures et sculptures d’artistes juifs du XXe siècle de l’école française et britannique (Atlan, Zadkine, Soutine, Modigliani, Chagall, Helman), Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, Scotland, 1979

    Solo exhibition, Figure humaine – peintures et écorces, Galerie Bellint, Paris, France, 1979

    Solo exhibition, Château de Mont-SaintJean, France, 1980

    Solo exhibition, Genèses, Galerias Rayuela, Madrid, Spain, 1981

    Solo exhibition, Galerie Limmer, Freiburg, Germany, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989

    Solo exhibition, Quatre Éléments, Galerie Siete Siete, Caracas, Venezuela, 1981

    Solo exhibition, Greer Gallery, New York NY, United States, 1981

    Solo exhibition, Galerie Becher, Wuppertal, Germany, 1982, 1985

    Retrospective solo exhibition, Helman – Peintures 1943-1983, Musée d’art moderne de Paris, Orangerie de Bagatelle, Paris, France, 1983

    Solo exhibition, Galerie Michèle Heyraud – Nadine Bresson, Paris, France, 1983, 1988

    Group exhibition, Matisse, Picasso, Chagall, Fautrier, Bellmer, Dali, Karskaya, Fini, Helman, Galerie Scherer, Fribourg, Switzerland, 1983

    Group exhibition, Charles Estienne & l’Art à Paris 1945-1966, Centre national des arts plastiques, Paris, France, 1984

    Group exhibition, Aspect de l’art en France de 1950 à 1980, collection de Christie et Lionel Cavalero, Musée Ingres, Montauban, France, 1985

    Group exhibition, 70e anniversaire Picture Fair 1985, Ben Uri Art Society, London, United Kingdom, 1985

    Solo exhibition, Robert Helman, Paysages de Genèses, Galerie Mayanot, Jerusalem, Israel, 1986

    Solo exhibition, Galerie La Pochade, Paris, France, 1986, 1987, 1988

    Group exhibition, Accrochage 50, Galerie Nickel-Odéon, Paris, France, 1986

    Group exhibition, Propositions pour une collection de petits formats, Galerie La Pochade,

    Paris, France, 1988

    Solo exhibition, La Genèse de la Lumière, Palais des Congrès, Megève, France, 1988

    Group exhibition, D’hier à aujourd’hui : Arnal, Doucet, Debré, Hartung, Helman, Schneider, Galerie Eterso, Cannes, France, 1989

    Group exhibition, Philippe Soupault, le voyageur magnétique, Centre des Expositions, Montreuil, France, 1989

    Group exhibition, Fonds national d’art contemporain : Acquisitions 1989, Fondation nationale des arts graphiques et plastiques, Paris, France, 1990

    Solo exhibition, Helman – 50 ans de peinture, Galerie Eterso, Cannes, France, 1990

    Solo exhibition, Hommage à Robert Helman, Galerie Duras-Martine Queval, Paris, France ; Galerie Valsyra Lausanne, Montreux, Switzerland ; Galerie Eterso, Cannes, France, 1991

    Retrospective solo exhibition, Helman 1910-1990, peintures et sculptures, Musée d’art moderne, Troyes, France, 1994

    Solo exhibition, Galerie Nicolas Deman, Paris, France, 2000

    Solo exhibition, Robert Helman – Paysages imaginaires de la Genèse, Musée Unterlinden, Colmar, France, 2007

    Solo exhibition, Galerie 53, Paris, France, 2007

    Solo exhibition, Robert Helman, Orangerie des Musées de Sens, Sens, France, 2010

    Solo exhibition, Galerie 53, Paris, France, 2010

    Group exhibition, Gris…Ouverture sur la couleur, Asse, Bitran, Helman, Lindström, Arpad Szenes, Vieira da Silva…, Galerie 53, Paris, France, 2010

    Group exhibition, La Lettre secrète, Helman, Karskaya, Vieira da Silva, Jan Voos.., Galerie de Buci, Paris, France, 2015

    Group exhibition, Collections du musée, Musée Unterlinden, Colmar, France, 2016

    Group exhibition, Donazioni I. Percorsi della creatività dal Novecento al nuovo Millennio, Spazio Officina Max Museo, Chiasso, Switzerland, 2016

    Group exhibition, Orient Express… de Paris à Istanbul, Abidine, Dumitresco, Hantaï, Helman, Herold, Vasarely, Galerie Courtage, Paris, France, 2018

    Group exhibition, Collection#1, Braque, Bran van Velde, Chagall, Fautrier, Helman, Landskoy, Moore, Picasso, Soulages…, Bibliotheca Wittockiana, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Belgium, 2019

    Group exhibition, Le Paysage imaginaire, Huguette Arthur Bertrand - Robert Helman, Galerie Diane de Polignac, Paris, France, 2022- 2023

    Solo exhibition, Robert Helman, la Genèse - Eternité en devenir, Galerie Diane de Polignac, Paris, France, 2023

    Group exhibition, Symphonie en bleu, Gérard Schneider, Hans Hartung, Pierre Soulages, Georges Mathieu, Huguette Arthur Bertrand, Robert Helman, Marie Raymond, Sergio de Castro, Guy de Rougemont, Pierre Fichet, Galerie Diane de Polignac, Paris, France, 2023 -2024

    Anniversary exhibition, 170 ans ça se fête, Musée Unterlinden Colmar, Bryen, Helman, Poliakoff, Soulages, Verdier, Vieira da Silva…, Musée Unterlinden, Colmar, France, 2024

    Solo exhibition, Robert Helman – Les Rythmes essentiels de la vie, Genèses, Germinations, Forêts, Envols, Galerie Diane de Polignac, Paris, France, 2025

     

     

    ART FAIRS

     

    Salon des Surindépendants Quatorzième exposition, Parc des expositions, France, 1947

    Salon des peintres de leur temps : « Le dimanche », Musée d’art moderne de la ville de Paris, Paris, France, 1953

    Salon de Mai, Paris, France, 1955, 1958, 1962, 1963

    Mostra Internazionale de Pittura - XI Primo Lissone 1959, Museo Del Premio Lissone, Lissone, Italie, 1959

    Mostra Mercato Nazionale d’Arte Contemporanea, Firenze Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italie, 1963

    FIAC (Foire Internationale d’art contemporain), Galerie Verbeke, Paris, France, 1974, 1975

    FIAC (Foire Internationale d’art contemporain), Galerie Michèle Heyraud - Nadine Bresson, Paris, France, 1983

    Arte Fiera Bologna, Galleria La Seggiola, Bologne, Italie, 1978

    Art Basel, Galerie Limmer, Bâle, Suisse, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987

    Querschnitt 83, (International Art Fair), Galerie Limmer, Freiburg, Germany, 1983

    Lineart, (International art fair), Galerie Eterso, Ghent, Belgium, 1989

    Art Elysées, Galerie 53, Paris, France, 2010

    Moderne Art Fair, Galerie Faidherbe, Pavillon Éphémère Champs-Élysées, Paris, France, 2024

     

     

  • Bibliography
    Robert Helman in his studio boulevard du Montparnasse, Paris, France, 1962
    Robert Helman in his studio boulevard du Montparnasse, Paris, France, 1962

    Monographies

    Jean Bouret, Helman, Paris, Les Gémeaux, coll. « Les artistes du temps présent », 1951

    Philippe Soupault, Helman, Paris, Georges Fall, coll. « Le musée de poche », 1959

    André Verdet, Forêts de Helman, Saint-Paul-de Vence, Parler, 1961

    Giuseppe Marchiori, Helman, Paris, Impriludes Bernard Lucas, 1965

    André Verdet, Vers une République du Soleil, Paris, Jean Oswald, 1968

    Max-Pol Fouchet, Helman, Paris, Le Cercle d’art, 1975

    Lydia Harambourg, Robert Helman, Musée Unterlinden, Paris, Somogy ed. d’art, 2007

    Lydia Harambourg, Helman, Paris, Cercle d’Art, coll. « Découvrons l’art du XXe siècle », 2010

    Robert Helman, Max Pol Fouchet, Clotilde Scordia (préf.), Entretiens Robert Helman - Max-Pol Fouchet, Paris, Éditions Déclinaison, 2023

     

    Ouvrages collectifs

    Jean Cassou, Les Peintres témoins de leur temps, Paris, Musée d’art moderne, 1953

    Raymond Cogniat, L’Histoire de la peinture, Paris, Fernand Nathan, 1955

    Raymond Nacenta, École de Paris, son histoire, son époque, Neuchâtel, Ides et Calendes, 1958

    Pierre Restany, Lyrisme et Abstraction, Milan, Apollinaire, 1958

    Marchiori Giuseppe, Robert Helman, Paris, Livre d’art, Impriludes, 1965

    Luigi Malle, Il Dipinti della Galleria d’Arte Moderna catalogo, Turin, Museo Civico di Turino, 1968

    Michel Ragon, Philippe Seuphor, L’art abstrait, 1939- 1970 en Europe, vol.3, Paris, Maeght, 1973

    Ronald Alley, Catalogue of the Tate Gallery’s collection of modern art other than works by british artists, Londres, Tate Gallery & Sotheby Parke-Bernet, 1981

    Jianou Ionel, Gabriela Carp, Anna Maria Covrig et Lionel Scantéyé, Romanian artists in the West, Los Angeles CA, American Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1986

    Françoise Armengaud, Titres, entretien avec Robert Helman du 24 mars 1986, Paris, Méridiens Klincksieck, 1988

    Lydia Harambourg, L’École de Paris, 1945-1965, Dictionnaire des peintres, Neuchâtel, Ides et

    Calendes, 1993

    Emmanuel Bénézit, Dictionnaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs, Paris, Gründ, 2006

     

    Catalogues d'exposition

    Jaime A. Colson, Helman Pinturas, cat. exp., Galeria Pictoria, Barcelone, 1945

    Maurice Nadeau, Helman, cat. exp., Galerie Berri-Raspail, Paris et Galerie Alsace-Lorraine,

    Oran, 1947

    Georges Boudaille, Helman, cat. exp., Galerie Breteau, Paris, 1948

    Pierre Descargues, Helman, cat. exp., Galerie Louis Manteau, Bruxelles, 1949

    Giuseppe Marchiori, Incontro con Robert Helman, cat. exp., Galleria Sandri, Venise, 1952

    Salon des peintres de leur temps, le Dimanche, cat. exp., Musée d’art moderne de la ville de

    Paris, Paris, 1953

    Jean Cassou, Les peintres témoins de leur temps, Musée d’art moderne, Paris, 1953

    Claude Lacombe, Une peinture lumineuse, Montréal, 1954

    Paul Gladu, Robert Helman ou le peintre aux soleils, Montréal, 1954

    Paul Gladu, L’univers d’un homme, Chicago IL, 1954

    Rodolphe de Repentigny, Lyrisme et plasticité se rejoignent chez Helman, 1954

    Jean Bouret, La jeune génération à la conquête de la peinture, 1955

    Jean Bouret (préf.), Edouard Rodoti (intr.), Les artistes juifs contemporains de France, cat. exp., Ben Uri Gallery, Londres, 1957

    Jacques Lassaigne, Pierre Restany, Mostra personale di Robert Helman, cat. exp., Galleria Apollinaire, Milan, 1958

    Pierre Restany, Helman, ce Signifiant organique, cat. exp., Galleria Blu, Milan, 1958

    Jean Bouret, L’Ecole de Paris, cat. exp., Galerie Charpentier, Paris, 1959

    Giulio Carlo Argan (préf.), Francesco Santambrogio, Guido Le Noci, Premio Lissone 1959, Mostra Internazionale di Pittura, cat. exp., Museo di Lissone, Lissone, 1959

    Giuseppe Marchiori, Helman, cat. exp., Galleria Blu, Milan, 1961

    André Verdet, Helman, Forêts, cat. exp. (1-31 mars 1961), Galerie XXe siècle, Paris, 1961

    La peinture française d’aujourd’hui, Association des musées d’Israël, Israël, 1961-1962

    Barnett Stross, Charles Spencer, Marcus Margulies, Exposition des récentes acquisitions avant d’aller au Musée de Tel-Aviv en Israël du 6 au 22 juin, Ben Uri Gallery, Londres, 1962

    Giuseppe Marchiori, La Collezione di un Bambino, cat. exp., Galleria Il Traghetto, Venise, 1962

    Carlo Barbieri, Robert Helman, cat. exp., Galleria Il Centro, Naples, 1963

    Denys Chevalier, Robert Helman, cat. exp., Galerie Hilt, Bâle, 1963

    Raffaello Torricelli, Mostra Mercato Nazionale d’Arte Contemporanea. Firenze Palazzo Strozzi 23 marzo - 28 aprile 1963, Libreria Editrice Fiorentina, Florence, 1963

    Beno d’Incelli, Caillaud, Chavignier, Clavé, Dumitresco, Helman, Istrati du 6 mai au 6 juin 1964, Paris, Impriludes, 1964

    André Verdet, Helman, cat. exp., Musée municipal de Saint-Paul-de-Vence, 1967

    Georges Peillex, Helman, cat. exp., Galerie L’Entracte, Lausanne, 1969

    Haïm Gamzu, (intr.), Philippe Soupault, Jacques Lassaigne, Guiseppe Marchiori, Georges Boudaille, Pierre Restany, Robert Helman, Peintures, gouaches, lithographie, cat. exp., Musée de Tel-Aviv Beit Dizengoff, Tel-Aviv, 1969

    Denys Chevalier, Présence Européenne, cat. exp., Galleria d’Arte La Bussola, Turin, 1971

    Pintores de Paris, cat. exp., Galerias Dinastia, Lisbonne, Galerias Alvarez, Porto, 1971

    André Verdet, Jacques Lassaigne, Philippe Soupault, Guiseppe Marchiori, Pierre Restany, Haïm Gamzu, Georges Boudaille, Pierre Cabanne, Un peintre Robert Helman, un sculpteur Nardo Dunchi, cat. exp., Allan Rich Gallery et Greer Gallery, New York NY, 1972

    Pierre Cabanne (intr.) ; André Parinaud (préf.) ; André Verdet et al., Thème de la forêt, 1957-1972, cat. exp., Cagnes-sur-Mer, Château-Musée de Cagnes-sur-Mer, 1973

    Pierre Cabanne, Peindre, c’est agir, cat. exp., Galerie Albert Verbeke et Galerie Jacques Verrière, Paris, 1974

    André Parinaud, Helman : poésie pure, cat. exp., Galleria Guiglielmo Tell, Chiasso, en coédition avec Arte Mercato, Milan, 1977

    Max-Pol Fouchet, Le paysage intérieur aujourd’hui, cat. exp., Château de Vesvres, 1978

    Foire de Bologne, cat. exp., Galleria La Seggiola, Salerne, 1978

    Charles Spencer, Jewish Art, Paintings and sculpture by 20th century Jewish artist of French and British schools (Art juif. Peintures et sculptures d’artistes juifs du XXe siècle des écoles française et britannique) Atlan, Zadkine, Soutine, Modigliani, Chagall, Helman…, cat. exp., Art Gallery and Museum Kelvingrove, Glasgow, 1979

    Castor Seibel, Robert Helman, cat. exp., Galerie Limmer, Fribourg, 1981

    André Parinaud, Robert Helman « Poesia Pura », cat. exp., Galeria Siete Siete, Caracas, 1981

    Castor Seibel, Helman, cat. exp., Galerie Becher, Wuppertal, 1982

    Castor Seibel, Foire d’art Querschnitt, cat. exp., Galerie Limmer, Fribourg, 1983

    Françoise Marquet (intr.); Jean Duvignaud, Helman Peintures 1943-1983, Robert Helman retrospective, cat. exp., Musée d’art moderne Paris, Orangerie de Bagatelle, 1983

    Michel Moles, Premier Salon de Peinture de la Ville de Cabourg, cat. exp., Ville de Cabourg, 1983

    Castor Seibel, Matisse, Chagall, Picasso, Fautrier, Belmer, Dali, Karkaya, Fini, Helman, cat. exp., Galerie Scherrer, Fribourg, 1983

    Gérald Gassiot-Talabot, Jean-Clarence Lambert, Nathalie Reynard, Charles Estienne et l’art Paris 1945-1966, cat. exp., Paris, Fondation Nationale des Arts Graphiques et Plastiques, Paris, 1984

    Ben Uri Art Society, cat. exp., Ben Uri Art Society, Londres, 1985

    Pierre Brisset, Helman, cat. exp., Galerie La Pochade, Paris, 1986

    Pierre Brisset, Panorama de l’École Française contemporaine, cat. exp., Institut Français de Tel-Aviv, Tel-Aviv, 1987

    Michelle Tourneur, Robert Helman, cat. exp., Palais des Sports et des Congrès, Megève, 1988

    Philippe Soupault, Le Voyageur Magnétique, cat. exp., 1989

    Jean-Marie Tasset, Helman 50 ans de peinture, L’appel de la lumière, cat. exp., Galerie Eterso, Cannes, 1990

    Philippe Chabert (préf.), Jean-Marie Tasset, Maurice Nadeau et al., Helman 1910 - 1990 Peintures et Sculptures, Rétrospective, cat. exp., Musée d’art moderne de Troyes, Troyes, 1994

    Lydia Harambourg, Robert Helman, cat. exp., Galerie Nicolas Deman, Paris, 2000

    Gérard-Georges Lemaire, Gris, ouverture sur la couleur, Apologie du Gris, cat. exp., Galerie 53, Paris, 2010

    Luigi Sansone, Nicoletta Ossanna Cavadini, Donazioni I. Percorsi della creatività dal Novecento al nuovo Millennio, cat. exp., Spazio Officina Max Museo, Chiasso, 2016

    Mathilde Gubanski, Le Paysage imaginaire, Huguette Arthur Bertrand - Robert Helman, cat. exp., publ. num., Galerie Diane de Polignac, Paris, 2022-2023

    Clotilde Scordia, Robert Helman, La Genèse Éternité en devenir, cat. exp., Galerie Diane de Polignac, Paris, 2023

    Isabelle Helman (intr.), Mathilde Gubanski, André Parinaud, Lydia Harambourg, Pierre Brisset, Robert Helman - Les Rythmes essentiels de la vie, Genèses, Germinations, Forêts, Envols, cat. exp., Galerie Diane de Polignac, Paris, 2025

     

    Articles de presse

    Tristan La Rosa, « Helman en Galerias Pictoria », Arte y Artistas, Barcelone, 1945

    Alberto Del Castillo, « Helman in Pictoria », Arte, Diaro de Barcelona, Barcelone, 14 novembre 1945

    Soler, « Helman in Pictoria », Arte, Diaro de Barcelona, Barcelone, 1945

    Georges Arout, « Robert Helman », Arts, Paris, 1948

    René Guilly, « Helman », La Revue Internationale, Paris, 1947

    Frédéric Delanglade, « De Maillol à Picasso », Les Lettres Françaises, Paris, 1947

    La vie artistique : Une conférence de l’artiste Helman à la Galerie Alsace-Lorraine, Paris, 1947

    Maximilien Gauthier, « Helman », Les Nouvelles Littéraires, Paris, 1948

    Georges Turpin, « Helman », Le courrier des arts et des lettres, Paris, 4 juin 1948

    Henri Schinezer, « Renouveau de l’art abstrait », Combat, Paris, 1948

    Guy Dornand, « L’Offensive Helman », Franc-Tireur, Levallois-Perret, 1948

    Claude Lacombe, « Robert Helman à la galerie Agnès Lefort », L’Autorité, Montréal, 16 janvier, 1954

    Charles Doyon, Les Arts, L’Œil en Coulisse, Paris, 28 janvier 1954

    « Une redécouverte de la couleur : l’œuvre de Robert Helman », L’Autorité, Montréal, 13 février, 1954

    Jean-François Chabrun, « L’école de Paris à la Galerie Charpentier : quarante-deux champions défendent leurs clubs », L’Express, Paris, 23 octobre, 1959

    Denys Chevalier, « Robert Helman », France Observateur, Paris, 23 octobre 1959

    Raymond Cogniat, « A la Galerie Charpentier, L’École de Paris », Le Figaro, 16 oct. 1959

    Fernande Saint-Martin, « Le public se méfie trop de ses goûts instinctifs », La Presse, Montréal, 19 mai, 1960

    Denys Chevallier, « Robert Helman », XXe Siècle Nouvelle série, XXII année, Paris, 14 juin 1960

    Pierre Restany, « Un demi-siècle d’École de Paris », La Revue des Ambassades et des relations internationales, Paris, février 1961

    Marie-Claude Lamarche, « À travers les galeries, Helman », Le Monde, Paris, 7 avril 1961

    Michel Courtois, « Expositions à Paris », XXe Siècle, Paris, 1961

    Giuseppe Marchiori, « Le Foresta di Robert Helman : la Pittura di un artiste independante e isolato, armato di fantasia e di tenacia, fuori da ogni filone o movemento », Metro supplément biennale METRO 6, Série 1, Annata III, Numéro 6, Milan, 1962

    « Helman, Galleria II Canale », Metro, Série I, Annata III, Numéro 6, Milan, 1962

    Georges Boudaille, « Robert Helman, Deux points de vue sur l’œuvre de Courbet, Face à face devant le micro, un abstrait et un réaliste Robert Helman Boris Taslitzky », Les Lettres Françaises, Paris, n°943, 1962

    Georges Boudaille, Denys Chevalier, Marie Henriette Foix, Alain Gheerbrant, Giuseppe Marchiori, « Helman », revue Parler, Paris, n°15, printemps 1963

    « Paris Original », The Indianapolis News, Indianapolis IN, 11 décembre, 1963

    Jacques Lepage, « Helman à Cannes », Lettres Françaises, Paris, 1963

    Georges Boudaille, « Pourquoi deux peintres sur une cimaise », Les Lettres Françaises, Paris, 14-20 mai, 1964

    Guido Marinelli, « Notizario Parigino », D’Ars Agency, Serie I, Annata V, Numéro 2, 1964

    Giuseppe Marchiori, « Robert Helman : un livre, une exposition », Lettres Françaises, Paris, 11-17 mars 1965

    Walter Feldern, « A Stoccarda si e’ chiusa Galleria Lutz and Meyer », D’ars Agency, Série I, Annata 6, Numéro I, Mois I, 1965

    Charles Estienne, « Chronique du jour : Robert Helman », XXe Siècle, n°XXVIe année, N°25, Paris, Juin 1965

    Kent Kay, « A Concern With Nature », San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco CA, 10 novembre 1966

    Frances Moffat, « Things Are Looking Up », San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco CA, 6 novembre 1966

    Georges Boudaille, « Robert Helman », Lettres Françaises, Paris, 1967

    André Parinaud, « Helman ou la haute exigence de soi », La Galerie, Paris, n°120, octobre 1972

    Pierre Cabanne, « Helman nous rapprend les éléments », Combat, Paris, 5 juin 1972

    Robert Helman, Les Nouvelles Littéraires, n° 2377, Paris, 16-22 avril 1973

    Alain Bosquet, « Helman », L’Œil, n°243, Paris, 1975

    André Parinaud, « Entretien - Helman : peindre c’est proposer », Galerie des Arts, Paris, 1975

    André Parinaud, « Trente créateur d’aujourd’hui pour comprendre l’art qui se fait », Galerie-Jardin des Arts, Paris, 1976

    Roger Kiehl, « À la Galerie L’Expression », Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace, Strasbourg, 27 mai 1976

    « Robert Helman », Mensile internazionale d’arte contemporeano, n°6 anno n°1, Milan, 1977

    André Parinaud, « Le chant profond d’Helman », Galerie des arts, n°196, rubrique Art et Lettres, Paris, dernier trimestre 1979

    Jean-Marie Tasset, « Helman : l’arbre-femme », Le Figaro, Paris, 16 novembre, 1979

    André Parinaud, « Robert Helman », Guadalimar revista mensual de la artes, année VI, n°58, Madrid, mars 1981

    Robert Helman, « Robert Helman : Le testament de Matisse c’est le dessin dans la couleur », Arts Magazine, Paris, n° 5524, 1981

    Sandra D’Aboville, « L’Allemagne fête Helman », Le Figaro, Paris, 29 octobre 1985

    André Parinaud, « Helman : une œuvre admirable », Galerie des Arts, Paris, n° 227, janvier février, 1985

    Jean-Marie, Tasset « Helman : la conscience spirituelle », Le Figaro, Paris, 1987

    Alain Bosquet, « Robert Helman : la rigueur des origines », Le Figaro, Paris, 4 octobre 1988, p. 35

    Pierre Brisset, « Robert Helman », L’Œil, Lausanne, 1988

    Patrick-Gilles Persin, « Robert Helman », Beaux-Arts, oct. 1988

    Jean-Marie Tasset, « Robert Helman l’appel de la lumière », Opus International, n°120, Paris, juillet - août 1990

    Jean-Marie Tasset, « Robert Helman l’appel de la lumière », Le Figaro, Paris, juillet 1990

    Estelle Dissey, « Robert Helman : un tête-à-tête avec la nature », Yonne Magazine, Auxerre,

    2010 

     

    Autres références : Thèse, entretien radiophonique

    Dorothy Jean McKetta, The Leo Castelli Gallery in Metro Magazine : American Approaches to Post-Abstract Figuration in Italian Context, thèse, University of Texas, Austin TX, 2012

    Marcelle Barthe, Entretien avec Agnès Lefort et Robert Helman, Radio-Canada, 1954

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