Helen James Niles
American (1864-1940)
Helen James Niles was born in Urbana, Illinois in 1864. She studied under John Henry Twachtman and William Merritt Chase at the Art Students League in New York, then with Robert Henri in Spain and Holland. Â She was known for her portraiture and floral still life paintings, which she executed in a style recognizable for its directness and vitality. Niles was one of 50 female artists to show work at the landmark 1913 Armory Show. Her portrait, “Phyllis,” painted in 1912, earned glowing reviews and was later purchased by the Toledo Museum of Art. Niles also exhibited at the 1911 Art Institute of Chicago exhibition and with the Society of Independent Artists in 1917.
