Thorvald Hellesen was a Norwegian abstract artist, designer and painter. His art was associated with the Orphic Cubism movement.

Thorvald Hellesen (sometimes spelled Thorwald) was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the son of Thorvald Hellesen (1862-94) and Ida Selmer (1858-1945). His father was a Supreme Court lawyer and his mother was the daughter of Prime Minister Christian Selmer. He passed his art exams but spent a year at the Norwegian Military Academy before deciding to become an artist.

He then entered the newly established Oslo National Academy of Arts, where he studied with Christian Krohg (1910–11). After that in 1912 moved to Paris. There he worked with Fernand Léger and met Picasso.