Hélène Henry : Les Tissus De La Modernité

Exhibition at the Villa Noailles, Hyères (France), 25 June - 5 September, 2021

A self-taught artist with a passion for painting and music, Hélène Henry (1891-1965) began by selling scarves to couturiers such as Worth and Groult. In the 1920s, she was inspired by the pottery of F. Jourdain, and in 1929 participated in the foundation of the UAM alongside Mallet-Stevens, Herbst, Jourdain, Templier, Charlotte Perriand, Sonia Delaunay and Eileen Gray. She also received important commissions, notably for the Villa Noailles, the palace of the Maharajah of Indore, the palace of the League of Nations and the liner Normandie. Throughout her career, she experimented with new techniques and used artificial fibres for the first time in France.

This exhibition catalogue traces the designer's career, from her beginnings to her decline due to the appearance of industrial markets, and then to the rediscovery of her talent twenty years after her death.