[James, Henry. (1843-1916)] de Kay Gilder, Helena. (1846-1916). Portrait of Henry James.

Charcoal on paper, signed and titled along lower edge: HdeK / H. James. 18-3/4 x 13 inches (47.6 x 33.0 cm) (sheet). Scattered handling creases throughout, including a 12 inch diagonal crease in the upper left quadrant, a few scattered foxing spots along the lower edge and small pinholes along the extreme edges. Overall fine. 

An extraordinarily sensitive from-life portrait of the novelist Henry James, several of whose novels have settings based on the Gilders' homes and the Gilders themselves.

Although she began her career as a painter, Helena de Kay Gilder (1846-1916) increasingly dedicated her considerable energy and talent to advocating for art, artists, and women, according to her own vision. She is remembered as a founder of the Art Students League and the Society of American Artists and for her vibrant creative partnership with her husband, Richard Watson Gilder, poet and editor of Scribner’s and Century magazines.

According to local historians, the Gilders “forever changed” Marion, Massachusetts when they began summering there in 1881. Henry James was a frequent visitor and set part of his novel, The Bostonians, in a town called “Marmion,” modeled after Marion. Later, Helena was enrolled in a boarding school in Connecticut and spent her school vacations and summers in Newport. The de Kay family was friendly with the family of Henry James there, and Helena and Henry became lifelong friends.