Sheila Healey (née Bellamy) (1915–2017) was a British artist who worked in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Healey was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Argentina to Anglo-Scots parents. After attending school in

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

and

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, she taught English in Argentina after the death of her father in 1930. In 1935 she moved to England to stay with her sisters. Marrying Hal Foote, they moved to

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

in 1936 where she studied painting and drawing with

Angelina Beloff Angelina Beloff (born Angelina Petrovna Belova; ; June 23, 1879 – December 30, 1969) was a Russian-born artist who did most of her work in Mexico. However, she is better known as Diego Rivera’s first wife, and her work has been overshadowed b ...

, the first wife of

Diego Rivera Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) was a Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the Mexican muralism, mural movement in Mexican art, Mexican and international art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted mural ...

. Here, during the period of the

Mexican art Various types of visual arts developed in the geographical area now known as Mexico. The development of these arts roughly follows the history of Mexico, divided into the prehispanic Mesoamerican era, the New Spain, colonial period, with the per ...

renaissance, she met

José Clemente Orozco José Clemente Orozco (November 23, 1883 – September 7, 1949) was a Mexican caricaturist and painter, who specialized in political murals that established the Mexican Mural Renaissance together with murals by Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siquei ...

who admired her work and advised her: ''throw away your art books – just work''. In 1938 they moved to

Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...

; her marriage ended after 5 years and in 1940 she met archaeologist explorer

Giles Healey Giles Greville Healey (1901–1980) was born in 1901 in New York City. He was educated in France and Germany and later attended Choate Preparatory School; graduating from Yale University in 1924 with a degree in chemistry. In 1928 he volunteere ...

whom she married in 1943, settling in Los Angeles before a further filming trip to Mexico. Encouraged by sculptor

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental Bronze sculpture, bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. Moore ...

in New York in 1946, they moved westwards to Pacific Palisades and in 1947 she studied with both

Rico Lebrun Rico Federico Lebrun (December 10, 1900 – May 9, 1964) was an Italian-American painter and sculptor. Early life Lebrun was born in 1900 in Naples, Italy. Before he started his art career he began a two-year service in the Italian Army durin ...

and William Brice in Los Angeles. After moving to

from

Big Sur Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Carmel Highlands and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Range, Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from th ...

, California in 1970, she learnt that many of her paintings had been destroyed in a fire in

in 1971. During her time in Mexico and Big Sur, the Healeys' friendships with other artists are well documented; such as

Lee Mullican Lee Mullican (December 2, 1919 – July 8, 1998) was an American painter, curator, and art teacher. He was an influential member of the Dynaton Movement. Early life and education Lee Mullican was born on December 2, 1919, in Chickasha, Oklah ...

Luchita Hurtado Luchita Hurtado (; born Luisa Amelia García Rodriguez Hurtado; November 28, 1920August 13, 2020) was a Venezuelan-born American painter based in Santa Monica, California, and Arroyo Seco, New Mexico. Born in Venezuela, she moved to the United ...

Kaffe Fassett Frank Havrah "Kaffe" Fassett, MBE (born December 7, 1937) is an American-born, British-based artist who is best known for his colourful designs in the decorative arts— needlepoint, patchwork, knitting, painting and ceramics. While still a chi ...

, and

Charles and Ray Eames Charles Eames ( Charles Eames, Jr) and Ray Eames ( Ray-Bernice Eames) were an American married couple of industrial designers who made significant historical contributions to the development of modern architecture and furniture through the work of ...

. Sheila Healey's changing themes over 75 years have displayed continuity with both the portrait and with handling of colour, "an essential human-ness being seen as a consistent thread through all her art." Textile artist and designer

opened the 2012 Exhibition with the following statement:

Growing up barefoot in Big Sur, California, I first learned about colour from Sheila Healey; She is a great collector of colour. I think of her work as repeating pools of colour; that deep red palette that comes from South America. It's just so life-enhancing. It's blood red. It's the source of things. When I'm teaching my workshops I always say that what we're trying to do is make colour glow. That is what our task is. Make it come alive! Don't kill it! Don’t make it drop dead! And this woman, whose show I'm so happy to be here for, makes colour glow.

Exhibitions

* 1943:

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor. He was known for his work in the horror film genre, mostly portraying villains. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price ...

Gallery, Beverley Hills * 1946: Guatemala City * 1947:

Pasadena Art Institute The Norton Simon Museum is an art museum located in Pasadena, California. It was previously known as the Pasadena Art Institute and the Pasadena Art Museum and displays numerous sculptures on its grounds. Overview The Norton Simon collections ...

, Pasadena * 1947:

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...

* 1947:

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

* 1948: Norlyst Gallery, New York City solo show * 1954–64: Coast Gallery,

, California * 1999: Sheila Healey Retrospective: A Painter's Journey: from Buenos Aires to Big Sur;

Cork Street Cork Street is a street in Mayfair in the West End of London, England, with many contemporary art galleries, and was previously associated with the tailoring industry. Location The street runs approximately north-west from the junction of Burl ...

, 20 September – 2 October * 2005: Sheila Healey: A Celebration;

, 31 May – 4 June * 2012: Sheila Healey: A Retrospective; Lewis Elton Gallery, University of Surrey, 20 March – 4 April

Portrait of Healey

Healey agreed to sit for sculptor

Jon Edgar Jon Edgar is a British sculptor of the Frink School. Improvisation is an important part of his reductive working process and developed from the additive working process of Alan Thornhill. Final works are often autobiographical, perhaps referenc ...

in West Sussex during 2010 and the terracotta head was unveiled at her Retrospective exhibition at Lewis Elton Gallery in 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Healey, Sheila 1915 births 2017 deaths Artists from Buenos Aires People from Chichester District 20th-century British women painters 21st-century British women artists British women centenarians British expatriates in the United States British expatriates in Mexico