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Blavatsky portraits and photographs 

These are photographs, paintings, drawings, sculptures, and other depictions of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, also known as HPB.

This collection of photos was inspired by a display of photos on the Theosophy Canada website in 2005, "A Pictorial Look at H. P. Blavatsky," which has more recently evolved into a slide show. Many thanks go to the Edmonton Theosophical Society for the inspiration and the research that went into its collection.

Images used here are scanned from the photo collection of the Theosophical Society in America, the Blavatsky Archives, and other sources, which are identified where possible, with copyright data if applicable. Additions and corrections are welcome.

Photograph or Art Work	Year Created	Artist	Notes
	Late 1840s	Unknown	Painting of young H. P. Blavatsky and her mother, H. Hahn. It is at the H. P. B. museum in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. The painter is unknown, but it may have been HPB herself.
	1870s	Sarony?	H. P. Blavatsky in New York days, from blavatskyarchives.com
	1877	Unknown
	1878	William R. O'Donovan	Bronze medallion sculpted by William R. O'Donovan, who knew visited Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott at The Lamasery. His friendship and the medallion are described by Olcott in Old Diary Leaves, Volume 1, pages 411-412.
	1884	Hermann Schmiechen	Fragment of painting by Hermann Schmiechen.
	1880s	Unknown
		Unknown	Photo of HPB reading a book "while residing in Maycot, Crownhill, Upper Norwood, London, at Mabel Collins' home She left Ostend for London, May 1, 1887." Scanned by Theosophical Society in Archives.
	1887	Unknown
	1880s	Unknown	H. P. Blavatsky sitting in a bath-chair, with G. R. S. Mead (right) and James Morgan Pryse.
	1887	William Quan Judge	This view is of HPB at her desk at 17 Landsdowne Road, London, taken by William Quan Judge with a Kodak camera as she was working on Lucifer. "The pen she holds is an American gold pen given to her by a New York Theosophist and made by John Foley. The picture was originally published in [The Path (periodical)|The Path]], New York, Vol. VII, May, 1892, p.39." This copy was provided courtesy of Will Thackara at International Theosophical Society (Pasadena); restoration of photo by Pavel Malakhov. QUOTE FROM ECHOES OF THE ORIENT VOL 1 pages 259, 262-263.
	1888	Unknown	H. P. Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott in their final meeting, taken in October 1888 in London. "In the photographic reproduction in Collected Writings, X, 176; shows the following handwritten message by H.P.B.: 'To the Aryan Theosophical Society of New York, with H.P.B.'s and the H.S.O.'s good wishes', London, October, 1888."
	January 8, 1889	Enrico Resta	"The Sphinx" pose - the most famous image of HPB. This was taken in Resta's studio at 4 Coburg Place, Bayswater, London on January 8, 1889. Six glass plates were taken altogether; in some HPB is looking to the side or is holding a cigarette. The originals are now located in the Archives of the Blavatsky Lodge of the Theosophical Society in England. Image from the Theosophical Society in America Archives.
	1891	Unknown	Death mask of HPB as printed in May 1991 issue of "The Theosophist".
	ca1889-1909	Gutzon Borglum	Painted for his Theosophist father by the sculptor of Mount Rushmore, copied from the Resta photograph. This painting hangs in the Meditation Room in the headquarters building of the Theosophical Society in America. It was painted between 1889 and 1909, when the father died.
	1907	Govinda Pillai	This statue stands in the Great Hall of the Headquarters Building in Adyar, Chennai, India. "The Colonel stands beside H. P. Blavatsky, who is seated, with his hand on her shoulder, an upright, robust figure, with venerable beard and strongly cut features." The statue was unveiled on December 7, 1907." Colonel Olcott had died on February 17 of that year, and the unveiling was an occasion to honor him and his work with Madame Blavatsky. Tribute addresses were given by Sir S. Subramania Iyer, Mr. V. C. Seshachariar, Dr. W. A. English, Mr. P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar, Mr. Sitarama Shastri, Mrs. Russak, and Annie Besant.
	1931	Z. Vanessa Helder	Sketch published in World Theosophy vol. 1 no. 8, August 1931, p. 599.
	2000s	Unknown
	2015-2016	Alexey Leonov
	2000s	Alexey Leonov	In 2015-2016, bronze versions of this pose were installed at the Theosophical Society headquarters in Adyar, Chennai, India, and at the International Theosophical Centre in Naarden, The Netherlands. These installations were facilitated by Dialogue of Cultures - United World Fund.