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Helen Cowen Gunsaulus
1886–1954
A Chicago-based art historian and curator, she helped introduce American audiences to Japanese art through museum work, public talks, and accessible writing. Her career bridged scholarship and everyday curiosity, making East Asian art feel welcoming rather than distant.
1 Audiobook
The Japanese New Year's Festival, Games and Pastimes
by Helen Cowen Gunsaulus
About the author
Born in Baltimore on April 6, 1886, and educated at the University of Chicago, Helen Cowen Gunsaulus built her career around the study and interpretation of East Asian art. She was the daughter of Frank W. Gunsaulus, a minister, philanthropist, and collector whose interests helped shape her own.
From 1919 to 1925, she served as assistant curator of Japanese ethnology at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. In 1926 she became Keeper of Japanese Prints at the Art Institute of Chicago, a role she held until 1943. Alongside her museum work, she wrote and spoke for general audiences, helping readers and listeners discover Japanese art, mythology, and visual culture in a clear, approachable way.
Gunsaulus died on August 1, 1954, in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. She is remembered as a curator and writer who helped open museum collections to a wider public and encouraged lasting interest in Japanese art in the United States.