Helicline Fine Art makes its art fair debut at The Salon: Art + Design, which begins next week, November 6 – 10, at the Park Avenue Armory. The gallery will bring several artworks from its most astonishing 1,000-piece collection of 1939 World’s Fair art and objects. The museum-quality archive, embodying the “World of Tomorrow,” bridges fine art, design, and history.
The presentation arrives at a moment of renewed cultural attention for the Fair — coinciding with Tom Hanks’ new play “That World of Tomorrow” at The Shed and The Wolfsonian–FIU’s World’s Fair exhibition in Miami.
Founded by Keith Sherman and Roy Goldberg, Helicline Fine Art is devoted to American and European Modernism, particularly WPA-era art from the 1930s and ’40s. For more than 30 years, the couple has championed artists who depicted the rhythms of modern life with humanity, optimism, and grit. Their debut at The Salon marks a personal milestone, and their first foray sharing a remarkable collection that personifies a mostly lost generation of art.
The 1939 World’s Fair Collection
The 1,000-piece collection includes paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, posters, ephemera and design objects that captured a nation’s belief in progress and modernity following the Great Depression.
Coming to The Salon:
- Chester Beach’s Riders of the Elements – a monumental symbol of human progress that towered 42’ over the Fairgrounds, the original 84” tall plaster maquette is the crown glory of the collection. Because the plaster is so large, the gallerists commissioned a 42” bronze reduction and will display the bronze at the Park Avenue Armory along with some paintings.
- Fine Art – The collection includes dozens of fine artworks. Helicline is also bringing two paintings, pictured below) to the Armory. A Harry Lane scene of the Fair under construction and a Walter L. Green painting of the GE Pavilion. The collection includes works by Ilya Bolotowsky, Al Hirschfeld, Pavel Tchelitchev, Augusta Savage, among others.
“The 1939 World’s Fair, emerging from the Depression and on the verge of WWII, celebrated hope, innovation, and resilience,” says Keith Sherman. “It’s where television, air conditioning, nylon stockings and the calculator were first introduced. Considering new plays, art exhibitions and more, the Fair remains alive today.”
Also, on View at The Salon: WPA Era and Modern Art
In addition, Helicline will display a selection of WPA-era paintings, works on paper, and sculptures by both well-known and rediscovered artists of the 1930s and ’40s. Some of the artists include: Thomas Hart Benton, Charles Burchfield, Daniel Celentano, Stuart Davis, Guy Pene du Bois, Ludwig Bemelmans, Max Kalish, Dale Nichols, Arthur Dove, Charles Demuth, Reginald Marsh, Trew Hocker, Ernest Fiene, and several others.
“Our hearts have always been in the WPA period.” adds Roy Goldberg. “Following one of America’s most terrible times our government paid artists to create. It was a statement of optimism and possibility – values that still resonate today.”
