Helen Bickham was born on June 9, 1935, in Harbin, (then) Manchuria, of American/Ukrainian-Asian descent. As a child, she live in China, Japan, the Philippines, and the US before moving to Mexico in 1960. When she was eight, she and her mother relocated from China to the US and soon thereafter her Naval officer father died. Described as a lonesome, only child, Bickham turned to drawing to pass the time. Her preferred subject was the human figure, often painted initially nude with clothing to be added later.
She went to University of California, Berkeley, on scholarship. Following her marriage in the late fifties, the couple with their young son moved to Europe where she was able to visit the great art museums to view paintings by the masters. Inspired, Bickham became a painter later, after moving to Mexico with her two sons following her marriage break-up.
Her work has focused on the "common" people in their everyday life. She is said to paint every day and still rides her bike around her home in Mexico City. She believes a multicultural world is possible, where people can live in peace.
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