Helena Abreu

Helena Abreu was born in the parish of Santa Eulália, municipality of Seia, on August 4, 1924.

In 1948 she completed the Special Course in Painting at the Porto School of Fine Arts, having been a student of masters Joaquim Lopes, Dórdio Gomes and Barata Feyo.

In the same year, she participated in the Aesthetic Holiday Mission, organized by the National Academy of Fine Arts, held in Vila Viçosa, under the direction of Master Varela Aldemira.

She is the author of a vast body of work in the fields of illustration, painting, drawing, watercolor, and sculpture. She has worked in fresco painting, creating numerous murals in single-family homes.

Helena Abreu authored four textbooks for the 2nd and 3rd cycles of secondary education and co-authored, with her husband, architect Francisco Pessegueiro de Miranda, the "Compendium of Drawing," a unique textbook for the subject of Drawing, for 15 years (editions: 1958, 1963, 1968).

Starting with her first solo exhibition at the Ateneu Comercial do Porto in 1968, she intensified her painting activity in the 70s, 80s and 90s, focusing especially on the figure of the woman, framed in the most diverse everyday atmospheres.

Awards:

1945 – Rodrigues Júnior Prize.
1946 – Rodrigues Júnior Prize.
1977 – Honorable Mention at the Salon des Artistes Français. 
1980 – Honorable Mention at the Salon des Artistes Français. 
1989 – Medal of Cultural Merit, “Silver Grade” – Porto City Council.
2001 – Medal of Cultural Merit, “Gold Grade” – Porto City Council.
2013 – Honored by the Eng. António de Almeida Foundation.