Juliette May Fraser was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 painter, muralist and printmaker. She was born in Honolulu in 1887. After graduating from Wellesley College with a degree in art, she returned to Hawaii for several years. She continued her studies with Eugene Speicher

Eugene Speicher

Speicher, Eugene was an American portrait, landscape, and figurative painter.One of the foremost realists of his generation who closely upheld the mantle of his mentor, Robert Henri, Speicher was born in Buffalo, New York. He began his studies in art at the Albright Art School...

 and Frank Du Mond at the Art Students League of New York

Art Students League of New York

The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...

 and at the John F. Carlson School of Landscape Painting in Woodstock, New York. She returned to Hawaii to teach, like her parents who had both come to Hawaii as educators. In 1934, during the Great Depression

Great Depression in the United States

The Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. The market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement...

, Fraser was invited to create a work of art for the Hawaii State Library

Hawaii State Library

The Hawaii State Library is a historic building in the City & County of Honolulu that serves as the seat of the Hawaii State Public Library System, the only statewide library system and one of the largest in the United States. The Hawaii State Library building is located in downtown Honolulu...

 by the Works Progress Administration

Works Progress Administration

The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...

. For three months she received $35 a week to work on the project. When the funds ran out, she continued on her own until ten murals were completed. Fraser also painted murals for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition

Golden Gate International Exposition

The Golden Gate International Exposition , held at San Francisco, California's Treasure Island, was a World's Fair that celebrated, among other things, the city's two newly-built bridges. The San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge was dedicated in 1936 and the Golden Gate Bridge was dedicated in 1937...

 and the Ipapandi Chapel on Chios Island in Greece. She died in Honolulu in 1983.

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, comprising the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum in Golden Gate Park and the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, is the largest public arts institution in the city of San Francisco and one of the largest art museums in California.-External...

, the Hawaii State Art Museum

Hawaii State Art Museum

The No. 1 Capitol District Building, on the site of the former Armed Services YMCA Building, now houses the Hawaii State Art Museum and the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.-History:...

, the Hawaii State Library

Hawaii State Library

The Hawaii State Library is a historic building in the City & County of Honolulu that serves as the seat of the Hawaii State Public Library System, the only statewide library system and one of the largest in the United States. The Hawaii State Library building is located in downtown Honolulu...

, the Honolulu Academy of Arts

Honolulu Academy of Arts

The Honolulu Academy of Arts is an art museum in Honolulu in the state of Hawaii. Since its founding in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke and opening April 8, 1927, its collections have grown to over 40,000 works of art.-Description:...

, the Library of Congress

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...

 (Washington, D. C.), the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...

, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, known for its neoclassical architecture and extensive collection of Asian art....

 (Kansas City, Missouri) and the University of Hawaii at Manoa

University of Hawaii at Manoa

The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a public, co-educational university and is the flagship campus of the greater University of Hawaii system...

are among the public collections holding works by Juliette May Fraser.