Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

(French/Portuguese, 1908–1992)

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva was a French-Portuguese painter. Noted for blurring the lines between representation and abstraction, Vieira da Silva’s paintings are produced in a limited palette. Her compositions often consist of checkerboard or grid patterns, layered on top of one another to create spaces reminiscent of interior rooms or aerial city views. Born on June 13, 1908 in Lisbon, Portugal, she moved to France at an early age where she was influenced stylistically and conceptually while studying under artists such as Fernand Léger, Émile Antoine Bourdelle, and Stanley William Hayter. To escape World War II, Vieira da Silva and her husband, the painter Arpad Szenes, fled to Rio de Janeiro, where she lived for seven years. After the war, she returned to Paris, where she remained for the rest of her life and received French citizenship in 1956. Her work, likened to both the mid-century Tachisme and Abstract Expressionism movements, has been critically celebrated throughout the world. The artist was a recipient of a prize at the São Paulo Art Biennial in 1961, and the Árpád Szenes-Vieira da Silva Foundation in Lisbon was built in 1994, a museum that houses a large portion of her works. She died on March 6, 1992 in Paris, France.

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva Artworks

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva (1,925 results)
Plage ensoleillée, 1954

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Plage ensoleillée, 1954

Sale Date: June 23, 2006

Auction Closed

Les catacombes, 1955

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Les catacombes, 1955

Sale Date: June 21, 2006

Auction Closed

Lisbonne bleue, 1942

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Lisbonne bleue, 1942

Sale Date: June 21, 2006

Auction Closed

Papillons, 1951–1952

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Papillons, 1951–1952

Sale Date: June 9, 2006

Auction Closed

Egypte, 1972

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Egypte, 1972

Sale Date: May 31, 2006

Auction Closed

Sans titre, 1977

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Sans titre, 1977

Sale Date: May 17, 2006

Auction Closed

La bibliothèque, 1959

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

La bibliothèque, 1959

Sale Date: May 27, 2006

Auction Closed

Grottes (+ Atlantide; 2 works), 1971–1974

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Grottes (+ Atlantide; 2 works), 1971–1974

Sale Date: March 25, 2006

Auction Closed

Sans titre, 1963

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Sans titre, 1963

Sale Date: April 23, 2006

Auction Closed

Tenture de lumière, 1983

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Tenture de lumière, 1983

Sale Date: April 26, 2006

Auction Closed

Tenture de lumière, 1981

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Tenture de lumière, 1981

Sale Date: April 26, 2006

Auction Closed

Marcel, 1974

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Marcel, 1974

Sale Date: April 26, 2006

Auction Closed

Espace musical, 1970

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Espace musical, 1970

Sale Date: April 26, 2006

Auction Closed

Composition aux damiers bleus, 1949

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Composition aux damiers bleus, 1949

Sale Date: April 26, 2006

Auction Closed

Composition 1962, 1962

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Composition 1962, 1962

Sale Date: April 26, 2006

Auction Closed

Narthex, 1972

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Narthex, 1972

Sale Date: April 26, 2006

Auction Closed

Sans titre

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Sans titre

Sale Date: April 7, 2006

Auction Closed

Grottes, 1971

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Grottes, 1971

Sale Date: April 29, 2006

Auction Closed

Projet de tapisserie, 1980

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Projet de tapisserie, 1980

Sale Date: April 4, 2006

Auction Closed

Liberté, 1973

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Liberté, 1973

Sale Date: April 6, 2006

Auction Closed

Sans titre

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Sans titre

Sale Date: March 5, 2006

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1956

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Untitled, 1956

Sale Date: March 16, 2006

Auction Closed

Grottes, 1971

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Grottes, 1971

Sale Date: February 7, 2006

Auction Closed

Construction, 1953

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

Construction, 1953

Sale Date: February 9, 2006

Auction Closed