The Art of Menhat Helmy is a newsletter and platform supported by its readers and managed solely by the artist's family. Our goal is to persist in showcasing Helmy's groundbreaking artwork and to inspire emerging Arab artists.
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The Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum was even more grand by night. Built in 1915 using elements of the Art Nouveau style of architecture, the four-story villa, once owned by politician turned art patron Mahmoud Khalil Pasha, was adorned with glass and metalwork fixtures at the entrance, while its eastern side faced the River Nile, glistening beneath the crescent moon. Spotlights and lampposts peppered the garden leading towards the entrance, guiding us towards a state-of-the-art exhibition hall—the largest of its kind at the time in Egypt—where a tribute was being held for my grandmother, Menhat Helmy.
The historic exhibition debuted in December 2005, eighteen months following the pioneering artist’s passing. The retrospective show brought together a career’s worth of artworks ranging from sketches, portraits, and paintings, to sculptures and abstract etchings. It was the first time that the vast majority of Helmy’s oeuvre had ever been on display in a single setting—a career spanning four decades laid bare for all to see. It was an unveiling that helped resurrect the career of an artist who was all but lost to the annals of old exhibition catalogues and cemented her status as a pioneer during the golden age of modern Egyptian art.
Though I was only thirteen years old at the time, I have vivid memories of the opening night. I attended the exhibition along with my mother, Sara—smiling from ear to ear as she took in her mother’s work, seeing some of the pieces for the first time in decades—and my brother, Rami. Many of Helmy’s brothers and sisters who had succeeded her were also in attendance. I recall the ribbon-cutting ceremony with then Minister of Culture Farouk Hosny and the endless sea of faces that filled the exhibition hall shortly thereafter.
My aunt Nihal, who was two years older than my mother, was responsible for the event and its eventual success. She worked with renowned sculptor and curator Ehab El-Laban to bring the retrospective to life, which included the Herculean task of archiving and cataloguing hundreds of artworks. As a successful businesswoman and art lover, she assumed the responsibility of managing the estate, and her first order of business had been the retrospective in tribute to her mother. Sadly, it was also one of the last things my aunt would do for the estate, as she was killed in a tragic car accident in September 2007.
On the 20th anniversary the Menhat Helmy retrospective, my mother and I thought it was time to share some of the footage taken during the opening night of the historic exhibition. We are lucky to still be in possession of this footage, which feels like unearthing a time capsule from a different age.
Now is your chance to wander through the echoes of the past with us.
The Art of Menhat Helmy is a newsletter and platform supported by its readers and managed solely by the artist's family. Our goal is to persist in showcasing Helmy's groundbreaking artwork and to inspire emerging Arab artists.
If you haven't already, we encourage you to consider becoming a paid subscriber.
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