AS IS | Helena Gottlieb

On this edition of our Contemporary Discoveries, we are thrilled to welcome Helena Gottlieb — a painter, physician, and keeper of memory whose canvases move between the landscapes of her Polish childhood, the light of Venice, and the autumn parks of New York.

After more than four decades of practicing pediatric medicine on Staten Island, Dr. Gottlieb turned to painting and built a body of work of remarkable warmth and chromatic vitality — one that earned its first institutional recognition when her painting View From My Window was presented at the Noble Maritime Collection's annual auction in 2024. We sat down with her to talk about memory, migration, and what it means to begin painting when a life is already full

• 

• 

• 

A: You spent more than forty years caring for children as a physician before dedicating yourself to painting. Looking back, do you see a connection between medicine and art?

HG: The similarities are there. Treating children required compassion, imagination, and constantly reinventing ways to reach the child and their caregivers to get the best results. In art, you need the same things — imagination, compassion, and the willingness to reinvent yourself in order to see objects in a different way.

A: You began painting in your sixties, long after most artists have established their careers. What gave you the confidence to start something entirely new at that stage of life?

HG: I decided to try, and my family applauded. I wanted to work in oils, but the local high school only offered watercolor. That landed in disaster — after my painting dried, nothing was visible. So I started on my own at home with oils, and my family loved it.

A: Your paintings often depict nature, changing seasons, villages, flowers, and children at play. What draws you to these subjects again and again?

HG: Those are subjects I genuinely enjoy. I could spend hours and hours in a forest or a park. And for me, all children are beautiful.

A: Many contemporary artists are concerned with disruption, critique, or uncertainty. Your work seems to search for beauty and harmony. Do you see painting as an act of optimism?

HG: Yes. Many things make me happy, and I love to laugh. If something is difficult in my life, I hold onto the belief that tomorrow will be better.

A: Having lived in Poland, Siberia, and the United States, how have those different places shaped the way you see landscape and memory?

HG: Siberia I do not remember, but I can imagine it — mountains and mountains of snow, trees covered in white and yet surviving. In Poland, I lived in a small town beside a large river, with many trees, bushes, and wildflowers. I greatly admire American national parks. I have always observed and noticed things, made sketches — but in my paintings, I add something from memory as well.

A: You are entirely self-taught as an artist. What freedoms do you think came from approaching painting without formal academic training?

HG: I am influenced by paintings I have seen, but I try to paint without any constraints. To my surprise, a museum conservator once advised me not to take any classes, so that I would not lose my style.

A: A number of your paintings depict moments that feel remembered rather than observed. How important is memory in your creative process?

HG: Memory is very important. I frequently recall how I felt at a particular moment — and that feeling finds its way into the work.

A: Your work often celebrates ordinary moments — a walk through a snowy village, flowers in a vase, children in a park. What do you think contemporary life overlooks about these simple experiences?

HG: Perhaps we could all live a less hectic life.

A: Many collectors are fascinated by artists whose work emerges later in life. Do you think age changes the way an artist sees color, beauty, and meaning?

HG: No — if anything, I think all of those things become more appreciated with time.

A: You have said that beauty can always be found in life and in nature. Has that belief become stronger over the years, or was it something you carried with you from childhood?

HG: Most likely I got it from my parents, who always believed in me.

A: What role does gratitude play in your work?

HG: I like to share what I see and feel with others. I hope that doing so gives them some joy.

A: When viewers encounter your paintings for the first time, what do you hope they feel — not intellectually, but emotionally?

HG: I hope they see positivity and pleasure in life.

A: If you could share one phrase, belief, or guiding principle that has shaped your life, what would it be?

HG: Look for positivity in life — wherever you are, and whatever you do.