Helmi Juvonen

Helmi Juvonen moved to Seattle with her family in 1918. In her twenties, she worked a variety of jobs including assisting artist Jacob Elshin. She received a scholarship to Cornish College of the Arts in 1929. At Cornish she met Mark Tobey who became a lifelong obsession.

In addition to her studies at Cornish, Juvonen took a variety of private art lessons. She also later studied engineering at the University of Washington.

During the 1930s she worked on the WPA art projects and during WWII designed camouflage for the U.S Navy.

In late 1950, her increasing struggles with mental illness ended in her being committed to an institution where she lived out the rest of her life.

Though she was prolific and closely associated with several of the so-called Northwest Mystics, her work is little known today.

For a detailed biography see Deloris Tarzan Ament http://www.historylink.org/File/3831

[accessed 6/2017]