Sky Blue

An Exhibition of Paintings by Helen Skipper (1914-2000)
The Residents Gallery
25th of May - 27th of August 2023

The exhibition can be viewed during Montsalvat opening hours:

Thursday - Sunday 10:00am - 4:00pm

Helen Skipper is arguably the most influential woman artist in Montsalvat’s history, alongside Lily Jorgensen. Both women made major creative, financial, and social contributions to the establishment and life of Montsalvat over decades spanning from the 1930s to 2000 when Helen passed away.

The art of Helen Skipper has had very little public exposure during and after her lifetime. The reasons for this range from her sublimation as a student of the ‘Master’ Justus Jorgensen, patriarchal social structure in early to mid-twentieth century Australia, raising children and building the business of Montsalvat rather than painting and exhibiting. Moreover much of Montsalvat’s collection lay hidden in disused storage areas and only recently has access to the collection revealed the work of women who helped shape Montsalvat.

The suite of works on display have recently been conserved by Helen Gill and represent Helen Skipper’s early work and also her tonal paintings.

References: Sigmund Jorgensen – Montsalvat: The Intimate Story of an Australian Artists’ Colony, 2014.
Philip Jones – Obituaries: Helen Stark Skipper, The Age, 2000.

Helen Skipper, Storm, c. 1931-38, oil on board, 39.9 h x 18 w cm (before treatment)

Helen Skipper, Storm, c. 1931-38, oil on board, 39.9 h x 18 w cm (after treatment)