French painter and printmaker. In 1870 he entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, where he studied under Jean-Léon Gérôme, a pupil of Ingres. He proudly described himself as 'the grandson of Ingres' and advocated that artists should 'always be classical'. He quickly formed a group of close friends including Sargent, Degas, Whistler, Alfred Stevens and Giovanni Boldini. As a student he was very poor and to earn a living spent 10 years decorating plates for the potter Joseph-Théodore Deck. In 1885 he visited London with Gérôme to paint a panorama (untraced). This was the start of a lifelong affection for England, where he returned almost every year. Helleu began a series of paintings and colour prints of cathedrals and stained glass windows in 1893, followed by flower studies and landscapes of parks in Versailles. Helleu took up sailing, owning four yachts over his life. Ships, harbour views, life at port in Deauville, and women in their fashionable seaside attire, became subjects for many vivid and spirited works. In 1904, Helleu was awarded the Légion d'honneur and became one of the most celebrated artists of the Edwardian era in both Paris and London. He was an honorary member in important beaux-arts societies, including the International Society of Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers, headed by Auguste Rodin, and the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. On his second trip to the United States in 1912, Helleu was commissioned to design the ceiling decoration in New York City's Grand Central Terminal. He is best known today for his numerous portraits of beautiful society women of the Belle Époque. //