Amar Gallery presents the first ever solo presentation of Hélène de Beauvoir’s artworks in the United Kingdom.
Hélène de Beauvoir: The Woman Destroyed is the first ever solo exhibition of Hélène de Beauvoir’s work in London. Often overshadowed by her older sister, the writer Simone de Beauvoir, this exhibition features paintings & works on paper from the 1950s to1980s.
The Woman Destroyed is an exhibition which took Amar Gallery’s founder, Amar Singh, three years to put together, sourcing works from around the world, meeting patrons of de Beauvoir and discovering how important Hélène de Beauvoir was to her sister and the global feminist movement.
Editor Annalisa Tacoli notes Picasso was an admirer of Hélène’s paintings. Picasso became familiar with de Beauvoir’s work when the artist had her first solo exhibition in Paris in 1936 at Galerie Jacques Bonjean, a gallery cofounded by Christian Dior, who began his career as an art dealer before becoming a fashion powerhouse. Galerie Bon- jean also exhibited the work of Picasso, Braque, Dali and much like Hélène even gave Leonor Fini her first solo exhibition.
In Tout compte fait (1972), one of Simone de Beauvoir's autobiographical works, she wrote collaborating with Hélène was something she had long wished for. In 1967 one hundred and forty three first edition copies of Simone de Beauvoir’s The Woman Destroyed were published by Gallimard with sixteen etchings by Hélène. First editions of this book are extremely rare, and one copy will be on view at Amar Gallery. This incredibly important book in feminist ideology was the first time the de Beauvoir sisters collaborated together. Publisher Gallimard was afraid that the publication of such 'feminine' literature would give it the mark of a publisher intent on overturning the social order.
The main themes covered in Simone de Beauvoir’s The Woman Destroyed are echoed in the individual memoirs of the de Beauvoir sisters, with particular regard to their mother’s confined domestic life in their family home in the rue de Rennes, Paris and Simone’s later experience as the second woman in her relationship with philosopher, novelist and political activist Jean-Paul Sartre
Claudine Monteil, the women’s rights specialist who knew both Simone and Hélène, details in her book The Beauvoir Sisters, that the two sisters shared a close bond and artistic influence on one another, but also about the jealousy and rivalry. Monteil also highlights how these two remarkable women came together to help launch the modern women’s movement and make a mark on the world.
Hélène de Beauvoir: The Woman Destroyed
Amar Gallery, Kirkman House, 12-14 Whitfield Street, London, W1T 2RF
Jan 24th - March 2nd 2025
www.AmarGallery.com