Helsted is remembered for arranging many specialized exhibitions and contributing books, articles and catalogues in connection with the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen.
On matriculating from N. Zahle's School in 1939, she studied history of art at the University of Copenhagen, earning a master's degree in 1951.
[1] From 1951 to 1954, she divided her time between Denmark's historical photography collection and the Archive for Decorative Art in Lund.
In the early 1970s, she renovated the museum's basement in order in arrange a series of special exhibitions.
Some were devoted to attracting more visitors to the museum while others covered developments in art and culture during Thorvaldsen's lifetime.