Helen Andersen, Canadian painter

helen-portrait-b&wHelen Andersen (July 14, 1919 – December 23, 1995), was a Canadian artist whose paintings were often inspired political and social convictions and by the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. She worked with a variety of styles and subjects, including post-impressionist landscapes in the 1950s and 60s, abstract expressionist and hard edge pieces in the 1970s and 80s and stylized figurative subjects throughout her career.

The purpose of this site

The locations of many of Andersen’s paintings are unknown, so this site offers owners of her work a way to identify themselves and the artwork(s) the have. If you have a Helen Andersen piece, please use the Contact link in the menu bar to have your piece entered into this database. If you prefer not to have your name or location published, that’s fine, but please enter that information anyway. If you have checked the privacy buttons on the form, you wishes will be respected.

Art historians and archivists

Helen Andersen is a relatively unrecognized artist but she knew and studied with contemporary artists of note. Bob Davidson, Jacques de Tonnancour, John Koerner, Joe Plaskett, Bill Porteous Bill Reid and Jack Shadbolt were among her teachers, acquaintances and correspondents.

A fairly extensive collection of original documents pertaining to Helen Andersen’s artistic career have been preserved, including notes, letters and photographs. They could be made available to students, archivists, universities or museums if the purpose is a good one. Please use the Contact link if you want to discuss this possibility.

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