Helen Biggar was born in the Hyndland area of Glasgow on 25th May 1909,
the eldest of three daughters to Hugh and Florence Biggar. Her family
were socialists and both her father and uncle were involved in local
politics. Although during her childhood she suffered from various
ailments and accidents, including an operation to remove a tubercular
gland from her neck, and two spine injuries which left her permanently
short in size.
Due to this, she attended a school for handicapped children in 1918 and
in 1825 she was admitted to the Glasgow School of Art (GSA). In 1929
she was awarded a diploma in textile design and followed this with
post-graduate work in sculpture. Her artistic flair was put to good use
over the next 15 years, mainly in Glasgow, where she worked as a
sculptor in a variety of studios, producing works for local patrons.
In 1934 she met Norman McLaren and began to work in film, producing a number
of scripts and film treatments, usually with local or political
interest. Their 1936 short Hell Unltd (1936) is still widely regarded as one of
the most innovative and important political films ever made in the UK,
and featured the ground-breaking use of live action and animation. She
continued to make films for Glasgow Kino Film Group (these are
currently not listed on IMDB). In 1938 Biggar began a long association
with the Glasgow Workers'; Theatre Group, designing their agitprop
stage shows, some of which toured to the Edinburgh Festival and to
London. She eventually moved to Londion permanently, where, on 11th
October 1948 she married collaborator and fellow artist Eli Montlake.
Whilst in London she resumed her film-making activities, including a
contribution to the documentary Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-day (A Century of
Song) (1946), but she also continued her theatre work and in 1950 she
was appointed wardrobe mistress and costume designer for the dance
company Ballet Rambert.
Helen Biggar died of a brain haemorrhage on 28th March 1953 at St Mary
Abbot's Hoaspital in London. Her cremation, at Golder's Green was
attended by her many friends and luminaries from the artistic,
theatrical and ballet worlds.
