Helen Lea

Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Helen Lea earned her undergraduate degree in art history at the Smith College. After graduation, she studied Italian and classical painting in Perugia, Italy. Returning to Kansas City she spent a year working as an artist for Hallmark Cards. She then moved to New York where she worked at the Frick Museum.

Lea returned to Kansas City in 1961, married and started a family while continuing to paint and study. She received a degree in Fine Arts from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1970.

Lea’s work has been shown at numerous exhibitions and her paintings are found in both individual and corporate collections worldwide.