Drian Galleries

A single-minded woman who forged swathes through the London art scene, Halima Nalecz worked for over 40 years jump-starting important careers. Born in Dukszty in Lithuania, she fled through war-torn Europe living variously in Moscow, Odessa, Turkey, Palestine, Lebanon before settling in London in 1947. She trained as an artist in both London and Paris and her work evolved from non-figurative to figurative, in a style instantly recognisable and clearly pointing to her East European roots. In 1956 along with fellow artists Denis Bowen and Frank Avray Wilson, she opened the New Vision Centre near London's Marble Arch. It was specifically aimed at artists who were deemed unworthy stylistically of exhibiting their work in the prestigious Bond Street galleries and its environs. A year later Nalecz opened the Drian Galleries, located in Porchester Place, Bayswater thus continuing the New Vision philosophy. She gave the first big exhibitions in England to John Bellany, William Crozier, Michael Sandle, Yaacov Agam, Douglas Portway and many more emerging artists of the period. The gallery closed c.1990 although Halina Nalecz continued to paint and lived until 2008.