Hélène Marie Marguerite Perdriat was born in La Rochelle, France in 1894. In 1915 at the age of 21, she became ill and believed she was going to die. In her sick bed she had a longing to paint a self-portrait; this was the beginning of a long successful career.

She recovered from her illness but required a long convalescence, which gave her the opportunity to continue painting. She painted more self-portraits, portraits of friends and her sisters. She painted from childhood dreams, and memories of ships from the Breton coast, and she wrote poems. She painted animals, ships, and sailors, but always return to self-images, often incorporating her fantasy characters.

When Perdriat recovered...