“. . .looking always for those who would fit her definition of greatness: someone who has taken the best of the past and created something in the present that will influence lives in the future in a lasting and constructive way.”

Sybil Shearer, A Portrait of the Photographer
Jens Jensen, landscape architect, c. 1935
ED PASCHKE

Ed Paschke, painter, c. 1970
BERTRAND RUSSEL

Bertrand Russel, philosopher, c. 1945

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

Frank Lloyd Wright, architect, c. 1935
AMELIA EARHART

Amelia Earhart, aviator, c. 1933
CLIFFORD ODETS

Clifford Odets, American playwright, screenwriter, director and actor, c. 1946
JANE ADDAMS

Jane Addams, social reformer, c. 1936
JOHN CAGE

John Cage, composer, c. 1950
IVAN ALBRIGHT

Ivan Albright, painter, c. 1936
MIES VAN DE ROHE

Mies van der Rohe, architect, c. 1949
JULIA THECLA

Julia Thecla, painter, c. 1944
ETHEL WATERS

Ethel Waters, actor, c. 1939

Helen Morrison’s portraits of Great Americans never appeared in book form, though Sybil Shearer tried to find a publisher after Helen’s death. A few of these remarkable portraits have appeared in books and magazines, but until now they have remained a “hidden collection.”

Sybil has said that Helen was a great “thrower-awayer” and it must be so, as almost no documentation about these portraits has been found. It appears that Helen’s way of working was to contact notable individuals – perhaps currently in the news — and show them references and a sampling of her work. Satisfied sitters often recommended her to their friends. And in some cases, the sitter may never have seen their portrait. Sybil once said, “I think she didn’t like her prints to get away. That’s why so many of the people never saw their picture.” (Chicago Tribune Magazine, 1991) Sometimes payment was involved, but often not. Helen was “collecting” people – and friends.

The wide scope of the collection includes artists, sculptors, architects, city planners, dancers, choreographers, critics, educators, business leaders, journalists, lawyers, medical doctors and researchers, musicians, poets, scientists, writers, playwrights, academics, philosophers, adventurers, and pioneer social activists.

These photos are at the Newberry Library in Chicago.