A new exhibition at Hollins University’s Eleanor D. Wilson Museum salutes a modernist artist who had a significant influence on two continents during the 20th century.
“Jean Hélion, Painting Is a Language: Paris, New York, Rockbridge Baths,” on display from October 3 – December 15, showcases the artist best known for his early modernist paintings, prints, and drawings; his affiliation with important modernist artists working in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s; and being an important intermediary between European and American modernist artists in Paris and New York.
“Hollins has enjoyed an 80-year association with Hélion, which began in 1943-44, and this exhibit features works from the Wilson Museum’s permanent collection, augmented by artwork from the collection of Louis and Suzanne Blair,” says Wilson Museum Director Jenine Culligan. “The exhibition includes sketches and drawings from Hélion’s studio, many of which have never been on public view.”
Hélion (1904-1987) first visited the U.S. in 1932 after marrying Jean Blair, a Virginia native. He spent the next 14 years living between Paris, New York, and Rockbridge Baths, Va.
“This period witnessed profound events in Hélion’s life,” Culligan notes, “including his internment in a Nazi prisoner of war camp from 1940-42 and his evolution from a purely abstract artist to a painter of modern objects, scenes, and people.”
She adds, “This exhibition traces Hélion’s artistic style throughout his decades-long career. He believed that ‘painting is a language’ and viewed art as a connecting, creative force that allowed for the simultaneous expression of multiple dimensions of experience and imagination.”
The “two Jeans” had a son, Louis, who in 2016 donated to the Wilson Museum what Culligan calls “a treasure trove” of almost 400 sketches, drawings, prints, and small paintings by his father. This large gift was preceded by four works given in honor of Professor of Art Emeritus Bill White’s retirement from Hollins in 2010 and followed by additional gifts in 2017, 2018, and 2024, thus giving Hollins the largest collection of works by Hélion in the U.S.
“Jean Hélion, Painting is a Language: Paris, New York, Rockbridge Baths” is co-curated by Culligan and Associate Professor of Art History Genevieve Hendricks. The exhibition and its associated programs are sponsored in part by the City of Roanoke through the Roanoke Arts Commission, and is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue, made possible by Suzanne Blair. It includes a foreword by Hollins President Mary Dana Hinton; essays by Culligan, Hendricks, and White; a painting memoir by Suzanne Blair; and a chronology of Hélion’s life compiled by Anna Woods ’26. The catalogue was designed by Wilson Museum Assistant Director Laura Jane Ramsburg with photos by Laura Carden, visitor programs and services coordinator.
The Wilson Museum will host an opening lecture on Thursday, October 3, at 5:30 p.m. A reception will follow.
The Wilson Museum is open Tuesday – Sunday, noon to 5 p.m., and Thursday, noon – 8 p.m. (closed Monday). Admission is always free.
Image: Jean Hélion, Untitled, 1944. Ink and watercolor on paper, 4 5/16 x 8 1/4”.
Gift of the family of Jean Hélion. Eleanor D. Wilson Museum at Hollins University, 2016.008.039.
