Early Years

A native of Montreal who grew up in Portland, Oregon, Gorenstein started painting as a teenager at a time when women artists weren't very well received. A reflection of the times in which she lived, she signed her work "Hilgos", an androgynous professional working name.

Career

A graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the early 1930s, she produced more than 1,500 artworks in about 70 years including paintings in oil and acrylic, watercolors, drawings and sculpture. Hilgos pieces have been exhibited in cities across the United States and her artwork is part of private collections in the U.S. and abroad.

She was a marine artist who was selected to paint twelve murals for the U. S. Navy's exhibit in the Federal Building for the 1933-1934 International Exhibition Century of Progress

Century of Progress

A Century of Progress International Exposition was the name of a World's Fair held in Chicago from 1933 to 1934 to celebrate the city's centennial. The theme of the fair was technological innovation...

, a World's Fair

World's Fair

World's fair, World fair, Universal Exposition, and World Expo are various large public exhibitions held in different parts of the world. The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom, in 1851, under the title "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All...

 held in Chicago. Her frieze was composed of twelve murals depicting the influence of sea power on America, beginning with the settlement of Jamestown

Jamestown

-Saint Kitts and Nevis:*Jamestown, the name of a former town on the edge of Morton Bay on Nevis in the late 17th century-United Kingdom:*Jamestown, Rossshire, Scotland*Jamestown, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland*Jamestown, Fife, Scotland...

 in 1607 when sea power first reached America and carrying through World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.

Later Years

In her later years while struggling with Alzheimer's, she stated "I remember better when I paint". With students from the Art Institute of Chicago facilitating, Hilgos began painting again. Painting allowed Hilgos to maintain, and even regain, some of her core identity, and her extraordinary enthusiasm and energy, in the face of her affliction. Many of these late-in-life pictures, most of which are watercolors, are exceptional. Her daughter, Berna Huebner

Berna Huebner

Berna G. Huebner is the founder of the Hilgos Foundation in Chicago, Illinois which supports and encourages the ongoing process of artistic creation with people who have different forms of dementia including Alzheimer’s...

, has written a book based on Hilgos describing how some people affected with dementia

Dementia

Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...

 can be reconnected to themselves and their pasts with the help of art students who work with them in creating art.

Film

An international documentary film, I Remember Better When I Paint

I Remember Better When I Paint

I Remember Better When I Paint is a 2009 feature length international documentary film about the positive impact of art and other creative therapies in people with Alzheimer's disease and how these approaches can change the way the disease is viewed by society...

, inspired by Hilgos, focuses on how the creative arts can help Alzheimer's patients re-engage in life, not only through creation and performance of art and music but also from exposure to the arts around the world, such as the Louvre

Louvre

The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...

 museum. It also shares findings by leading neurologists offering scientific support regarding the transforming power of the arts for Alzheimer's victims. The film includes an emotional interview with Yasmin Aga Khan, movie star Rita Hayworth

Rita Hayworth

Rita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...

‘s daughter; Hayworth developed early-onset Alzheimer’s and also painted.

A French version of the film "Je me souviens mieux quand je peins" was released in September 2009 as part of the French Alzheimer Association's activities on World Alzheimer's Day. The film is co-directed by Berna Huebner and Eric Ellena

Eric Ellena

-Career:As a director his films include The Last Trackers of the Outback, which won the Public’s Choice Award at the 2008 FIFO - Pacific International Documentary Film Festival of Tahiti and The Long March of Bob Slaughter....

.
Extracts from the documentary were featured on the France 2

France 2

France 2 is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4, France 5 and France Ô...

 Telematin

Télématin

Télématin is a French breakfast television news show, broadcast on France 2 since January 7, 1985. It is broadcast in Metropolitan France weekdays from 6:30–9:00 am CET. TV5 broadcast the show in Canada in its entirety until September 2011: it now shows a 90 minute version between...

television program.