author
Helen Cowen Gunsaulus
1886–1954
A Chicago-based art historian and museum curator, she helped introduce American audiences to Japanese art through her writing and curatorial work. Her books reflect years of close study of prints, costume, and decorative arts.
1 Audiobook
The Japanese New Year's Festival, Games and Pastimes
by Helen Cowen Gunsaulus
About the author
Helen Cowen Gunsaulus (April 6, 1886 – August 1, 1954) was an American art historian and curator whose career centered on Japanese art. She worked in Chicago at major cultural institutions, serving as assistant curator of Japanese ethnology at the Field Museum of Natural History from 1919 to 1925 and later as Keeper of Japanese Prints at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1926 to 1943.
She also wrote and edited books and museum publications on Japanese art and material culture. Her work grew out of sustained research and cataloging, and it helped make specialized collections more accessible to general readers as well as scholars.
Remembered today as both a curator and an author, she played an important part in the early American study and presentation of Japanese art. Her writing is especially appealing for listeners interested in art history, museums, and cross-cultural exchange.