Helena Dunlap Biography

Helena Adele M Dunlap (1876 - 1955) Born on a ranch in Whittier, CA on Oct. 9, 1876. Dunlap studied at the AIC, PAFA, with Wm M. Chase in NYC, Simon and Lhote in Paris. Returning to Los Angeles in 1911, she became active in the local art scene. During this period her avant-garde approach to painting was highly praised by the local press. Considered a modernist, her work is rooted in Impressionism. She traveled extensively and lived in Paris for many years before establishing a home in Laguna Beach in the early 1950s. Returning to Whittier, she died on May 1, 1955. Exh: Paris Salon, 1908-25; Steckel Gallery (LA), 1911 (1st solo); Calif. Art Club, 1914-29; PPIE, 1915; Panama-Calif. Expo (San Diego), 1915 (gold and silver medals); LA Museum of History, Science & Art, 1914, 1915, 1917, 1923 (solos); NAD; SFAA, 1916-25 (medals); Modern Art Society (LA), 1919-25; PAFA, 1919; Stendahl Gallery (LA), 1922 (solo); Oakland Art Gallery, 1922; Calif. WC Society, 1923; Cannell & Chaffin Gallery (LA), 1924; Calif. State Fair, 1926; Painters & Sculptors of LA, 1928. In: LACMA; Santa Fe Railway (Chicago); Irvine (CA) Museum; Huntington Gallery (San Marino); Southwest Museum (LA); San Diego Museum.

Source:

Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940" 

Art in California (R. L. Bernier, 1916); Southern California Artists (Nancy Moure); Artists of the American West (Doris Dawdy); Women Artists of the American West; Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs, et Graveurs (Bénézit, E); California State Library (Sacramento); California Impressionism (Wm. Gerdts & Will South); American Art Annual 1905-33; Who's Who in American Art 1936-41; Los Angeles Times, 5-4-1955 (obituary).