Henriette-Hélène de Beauvoir (; 6 June 1910 – 1 July 2001) was a French painter. She was the younger sister of philosopher

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, nor was she ...

. During World War II she received a visa in Bordeaux from Portuguese consul general

Aristides de Sousa Mendes Aristides de Sousa Mendes do Amaral e Abranches (; July 19, 1885 – April 3, 1954) was a Portuguese diplomat who is recognized in Portugal as a national hero for his actions during World War II. As the Portuguese consul-general in the French ...

which enabled her to cross into Portugal and stay there. Her art was exhibited in Europe, Japan, and the US. She married Lionel de Roulet. When Hélène de Beauvoir lived in Goxwiller, a village near

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, she became president of the center for battered women. She continued painting until she was 85. Many of her paintings were related to

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

philosophy and women's issues. In January 2025, art dealer Amar Singh staged the first UK solo exhibition of Hélène de Beauvoir's work at Amar Gallery.

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...

writing about the exhibition stated "The show offers a mere glimpse through the keyhole of her expansive artistry, but it’s the most we’ve ever seen of de Beauvoir in this country: jewel-like landscapes, teetering on the brink of abstraction; canvases smeared with energy and passion."

References

Sources

* Monteil Claudine, ''Les Sœurs Beauvoir'', Editions no 1, Paris, 2003.

External links

Hélène de Beauvoir site
archived at the

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in ...

1910 births 2001 deaths Painters from Paris Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery French feminists French women painters French women's rights activists Simone de Beauvoir 20th-century French women artists Signatories of the 1971 Manifesto of the 343 {{France-painter-20thC-stub