Wyeth was 53 and at work on the painting Evening at Kuerner's when he first encountered Helga, who was caring for Karl Kuerner. The artist, who is part German, part Swiss, was intrigued by Helga's Germanic character and outlook. He realized that Helga had sustaining power. She was also a figure of his imagination; the source of his "fifteen-year reverie," as Wyeth's biographer later called her. From 1971 to 1985, Helga was Wyeth's secret muse. He created nearly 240 images of her, showing them to no one and storing them in an unheated attic room at Kuerner's house.