Helicline Fine Art To Present 1939 World’s Fair And WPA-era Artwork At The Salon: Art + Design
Gallery makes its art fair debut at New York’s Park Avenue Armory, November 6–10, with rare works from its 1,000-piece collection.
By: A.A. Cristi Oct. 27, 2025
Helicline Fine Art will debut at The Salon: Art + Design at the Park Avenue Armory, November 6–10, 2025, presenting rare works from its 1939 World’s Fair and WPA-era collections. The exhibition, coinciding with new cultural interest in the Fair, features pieces by artists including Thomas Hart Benton, Charles Burchfield, and Augusta Savage.
Founded by Keith Sherman and Roy Goldberg, Helicline Fine Art is devoted to American and European Modernism, particularly WPA-era art from the 1930s and ’40s. For over 30 years, the partners have championed artists who captured the rhythm of modern life with humanity and grit. Their presentation at The Salon marks both a personal milestone and the first public showing of a collection that embodies a lost generation of American art.
The 1939 World’s Fair Collection
Helicline’s collection includes paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, posters, and design objects that reflect the nation’s belief in progress and innovation following the Great Depression. Highlights include a 42-inch bronze reduction of Chester Beach’s Riders of the Elements, originally a monumental 42-foot sculpture that towered over the Fairgrounds. Additional works on view include Harry Lane’s depiction of the Fair under construction and Walter L. Green’s painting of the GE Pavilion. Artists represented in the archive include Ilya Bolotowsky, Al Hirschfeld, Pavel Tchelitchev, and Augusta Savage.
“The 1939 World’s Fair, emerging from the Depression and on the verge of WWII, celebrated hope, innovation, and resilience,” said Sherman. “It’s where television, air conditioning, nylon stockings, and the calculator were first introduced. The Fair remains alive today through new plays, exhibitions, and artistic rediscovery.”
WPA-Era and Modern Works
Alongside its World’s Fair selections, Helicline will also display WPA-era paintings, works on paper, and sculptures by renowned and rediscovered artists of the 1930s and ’40s, including Thomas Hart Benton, Charles Burchfield, Daniel Celentano, Stuart Davis, Guy Pène du Bois, Ludwig Bemelmans, Max Kalish, Dale Nichols, Arthur Dove, Charles Demuth, Reginald Marsh, and Ernest Fiene.
“Our hearts have always been in the WPA period,” said Goldberg. “After one of America’s most difficult times, our government paid artists to create — a statement of optimism and possibility that still resonates today.”
Videos