Knute Heldner and Collette Pope Heldner

Knute Heldner, Swedish, 1875–1952

Collette Pope Heldner, American, 1902–1990

Knute Heldner was born in Sodbebery or Verderslov, Sweden. He worked for a passenger ship as a cabin boy, leaving his post in Boston about 1892, and later worked in Minnesota lumber camps. Helder appears to have taken painting classes at the Saint Paul School of Fine Arts. In 1915, he won $100 at the Minnesota State Fair and began exhibiting paintings in Chicago. He taught at the Duluth Academy of Fine Arts, where he met and married one of his students, Colette Pope. The Heldners moved to New Orleans in 1923. Their studio at 726 Peter's Street became an important meeting place for artists and writers during the 1930s. Passionate about architectural preservation, the Heldners helped found the Vieux Carré Commission in 1936.