Finnish art - Erkki Koponen 2

Erkki Koponen (1899-1996) was an abstract painter who eventually became the president of the Helsinki Academy of Fine Art and a state-appointed Professor. But all the while on the side he also illustrated the humor columns and short stories of the writer "Olli" (Vaino Nuorteva, 1889-1967), first published daily in the newspaper Uusi Suomi and then compiled into more than 20 book collections. Koponen illustrated Olli's stories for close to forty years (and, actually, one last book cover even when he was 94 years old).