Maria Helena Viera da Silva (1908 - 1992)

Maria was born in Lisbon but travelled globally due to her Fathers diplomatic status. She studied sculpture in Paris and then focused on painting beginning to exhibit in Paris in 1930. During WW2 left Paris via Portugal and settled in Brazil til the end of the war. During this time in Brazil her reputation as an artist grew and in 1943, she was included in Peggy Guggenheim's Exhibition by 31 Women at the Art of This Century gallery in New York

After WW2 she moved back to Paris where she lived for most of her life and in 1966 was the first woman honoured with the French government's Grand Prix National des Arts. She is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Tate Gallery,and the Guggenheim Museum