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Helen LaFrance Orr

African American Painter

Born: November 4, 1919 in Hickory Groves, Kentucky

Classification: Southern Folk Artist 'Memory Painter' <gallery> File:Example.jpg|Caption1

HELEN LA FRANCE ORR, an African-American, was born November 4, 1919 in Hickory Groves (Graves County), Kentucky. She was the second eldest daughter of John Franklin Orr and Lillie Mae (Ligons) Orr. At an early age, she had a love for reading and painting. She is a self-taught painter, and she paints from precious memories of things in her early life. Her mother inspired her as a child to paint. She showed her how to mix laundry bluing with dandelions and berries to make paint for her paintings. She received no formal art instruction nor did she attend high school. Her mother instructed her to paint what she saw. The first thing she remembered painting was a gray rabbit on an old building of felt fabric. Most of her pictures featured church picnics based on the church in north Graves County, Shelton Chapel A.M. E. Church, where she attended school during the week and church services on Sundays.

Miss Helen not only paints but she, in her younger days, carved and built doll houses. She tells of the story about one of her carvings she did of geese in flight. She mentioned how when one goose is sick or dying that two other geese would hold the sick goose up while in flight until they are sure it is dead before letting it fall to the ground. Miss Helen stills paints almost daily.

Her works are seen in the book titled “Art of the South” by Kathy Moses. When Miss Helen worked at the Kennedy Tobacco Barn, a buyer from Holland Amsterdam purchased a painting of a worker working in the barn. It was published in a book in Holland titled, Tabak in DeKunstâ. Her works are offered in galleries in Kentucky and Indiana and can be located using the Internet.

A birthday party was given in her honor on her 89th birthday (in 2008) by the Matters of the Heart Youth Group of the Smith Temple Presbyterian Church and the Ellis Wilson Society, both of Mayfield, Kentucky.

Miss Helen has been acknowledged by the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights as a Great Black Kentuckian and she is featured on their website which can be visited by going to www.kchr.ky.gov.