Helen Stewart trained at AndrĂ© Lhote’s academy in Paris in the 1930s, Stewart’s elegant Matisse-inspired portraits established her profile as a leading contemporary artist in Sydney, prior to returning to New Zealand in 1946. Back in New Zealand she was recognised for her modernist sensibilities in art. Although Wellington in the 1950s was not a welcoming environment for an artist with ambitions to challenge the status quo.
Read MoreExamples of her work are held in Te Papa Tongarewa - the Museum of New Zealand, Wellington; amongst other major public collections in New Zealand.