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Ester HeleniusProfile Portrait of a Woman Sitting on a Chair1916
1916
$1,169.25
£880.26
€990
CA$1,610.71
A$1,803.90
CHF 941.24
MX$22,033.82
NOK 11,975.36
SEK 11,288.21
DKK 7,536.01
About the Item
A finely tuned oval drawing by the Finnish artist Ester Helenius depicting a young woman in profile seated on a chair. The room is suggested only by a diffuse background. Signed and dated Ester Helenius 1916 in the lower right. Charcoal and white gouache.
Ester Emmy Maria Helenius (1875-1955) was a distinguished Finnish painter and printmaker known for her bold color sense and mystical symbolism
She studied at the Finnish Art Society’s Drawing School from 1892 to 1898, under the mentorship of Helene Schjerfbeck and made her exhibition debut in Helsinki in 1896, followed by inclusion in Gösta Stenman’s salon in the 1920s.
Later she embarked on study trips across Europe—Italy, Spain, and Paris. In Paris (1910s–1930s), she attended Académie de la Grande Chaumière and Académie Colarossi, diving headfirst into Impressionist and colorist traditions
Influenced by French colorism and mysticism, she evolved from restrained realist folk motifs toward vibrant, symbolist-inflected works that included gothic interiors, harlequins, dancers, florals, and cathedral views .
In her earlier works she made delicate portraits and landscapes often tied to the Gulf of Finland region. For her later works she turned into vivid floral still-lifes, Parisian urban scenes, gothic church interiors, and enigmatic androgynous figures infused with theosophical and mystical undertones .
Known for her fascination with mysticism and theosophy, she presented dualities—both material sensuality and immaterial mystery in in her compositions. This portrait has a little from both her periods, a portrait with a somewhat mystic atmosphere.
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Exhibitions & Legacy
1938: Solo exhibition at Galerie A. Barreiro in Paris, her most significant career highlight .
2016–2017: Retrospectives of her work at Hämeenlinna Art Museum and Salon Art Museum in Salo, Finland. The Hämeenlinna show included over 230 works—paintings, prints, and drawings—many donated by Helenius herself.
2020–21: Participated in “Lallukka: Life in the Home of Artists” at HAM, Helsinki Art Museum
2021: Group show “Loving Women” at Pro Artibus in Ekenäs
2022: Featured in “Akseli Gallen-Kallela as a Mentor” at the Gallen-Kallela Museum
Collections & Museum Representation
Helenius’s works are held in prestigious public collections:
Finnish National Gallery
Helsinki Art Museum
Hämeenlinna Art Museum, which preserves her legacy extensively—thanks to her own donations and bequest
Nationalmuseum in Stockholm
In sum, Ester Helenius was a versatile and introspective artist whose journey from careful academic drawing to expressive colorist painting and mystical symbolism marked her as a unique voice in early 20th‑century Finnish art. Her works remain accessible in Finland’s most significant museum collections and continue to resonate in exhibitions commemorating Finnish women artists, Parisian color traditions, and theosophical art currents.
- Creator:Ester Helenius (1875 - 1955, Finnish)
- Creation Year:1916
- Dimensions:Height: 21.26 in (54 cm)Width: 16.34 in (41.5 cm)Depth: 0.79 in (2 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:In good condition with a few pinholes along the edge. Paper has turned a little brown. Presently in a passepartout. We will frame it shortly.
- Gallery Location:Stockholm, SE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2608216504012
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Maternal Delight III, or Mothers Joy III, (In Swedish Modersglädje III) by Anders Zorn depicting a young woman lovingly playing with her child. A small amusing detail is the small child face visible on the lower left side, just outside the oval. This is an extremely rare etching and is one of two or possibly three known in existence of a so called cancellation proof. A cancellation proof etching of the Maternal Delight III is in the Boston Public Library Collection, USA.
Signed Zorn in the plate. When Zorn decided that the vey limited number of prints were all done he took his burin, (the steel cutting tool used in engraving also, back in history, called graver), and made cross hatched lines across the figures on the original plate, after which he made a couple of after proofs or cancellation proofs and the present etching is one of them. This gives the present work a special and interesting image of one of Zorns best and rarest etchings. Created in London 1883, the first year he made etchings.
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Literature
Asplund 6. Delteil. 5. Hjert & Hjert 6. Lidbeck 6.
Unfortunately some reflexes in the photos.
Anders Zorn (1860-1920) was a Swedish artist who attained international success as a painter, sculptor, and etching artist. He was to become one of Swedens foremost artists ever. No technique was foreign to him, he worked equally well with watercolors, wash technique or oil painting. The etching technique also attracted this virtuoso and the etchings contributed greatly to his success.
Between 1875 to 1880, Zorn studied at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts in Stockholm, where he amazed his teachers with his talent. Members of the Stockholm Society approached him with commissions. In early 1881, Zorn met Emma Lamm, whose background was quite different from his. Emma Lamm was from a wealthy Jewish merchant family. She was interested in art and culture and, after a long engagement, they were married in 1885.
During the 1880s Zorn traveled extensively, to London, Paris, the Balkans, Spain, Italy, and the United States. In the 1890s when he was in Paris, he spent much time with Albert Edelfelt. He quickly became an international success and one of the most highly regarded painters of his era. In the beginning of Zorns career, it was primarily his skill as a portrait painter that gained him international acclaim, based principally upon his incisive ability to depict the individual character of his model, he came to portray many great people including three American Presidents: Grover Cleveland, William H. Taft, and Theodore Roosevelt.
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At the age of 29, he was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur at the Exposition Universelle 1889 Paris World Fair.
Zorn's reputation as an etcher spread across the world. Soon he could find his etchings in the major world metropolises in Europe and the USA. Zorn produced 289 different etchings, including portraits, genre studies and nude studies.
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Zorn's art made him wealthy and he was thus able to build up a considerable collection of art. In their joint will, Anders and Emma Zorn donated their entire holdings to the Swedish State.
Some of his most important works can be seen at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Stockholm. Other museums holding major works by Zorn include the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The Zorn Collections located in Mora and Garberg, Älvdalen, consist of four museums dedicated to the life and works of Anders Zorn. Shown there are extensive works of Zorn and his collected art.
The Bellman Prize (Bellmanpriset) is a literature prize for "an outstanding Swedish poet", every year awarded by the Swedish Academy. The prize was established by Anders Zorn and his wife Emma in 1920.
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